


Integrations

by Hester_Of_Ravenswood, TheLonelyDraconequus



Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [11]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No Smut, No enabler, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 57,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24675046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hester_Of_Ravenswood/pseuds/Hester_Of_Ravenswood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyDraconequus/pseuds/TheLonelyDraconequus
Summary: And we're back again! Team RWBY and their children getting through the long summer! What's not to love?Side note: As always, no enabler, no smut.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Fox Alistair/Yatsuhashi Daichi, Ilia Amitola/Pyrrha Nikos/Sun Wukong, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan/Ciel Soleil, Oscar Pine/Whitley Schnee, Penny Polendina/Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen/Elm Ederne
Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661938
Comments: 646
Kudos: 58





	1. Cheat Sheet

**Author's Note:**

> This part was actually named by Qorvid!!! Thanks!

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows which baby is which. That's why I'm doing this! This will be in order of birth, by the way! Triplets and quadruplets will be separated!

Quadruplets-

Adolpha-

Order of birth: First born

Appearance: Light gray wolf ears, light gray eyes (note: not silver like Ruby, Ruby is not one of her biological mothers), light gray hair, medium-sized

Aura color: light gray

Faunus?: Yes, wolf faunus with wolf ears

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: A-doll-fa

Nicknames: Dolphie (doll-fie)

Parents (biologically): Weiss (gave birth), Blake, Yang

Personality: She appears to fit the eldest roll very well, appears to be protective. Does not cry often, only does so when others are upset or when scared by loud noises. Appears to be exceptionally close to Jin.

Likes: Weiss' singing, Blake's purring, siblings, her aunts/uncles, grandparents, parents

Dislikes: Kali's purring, siblings crying, loud noises

Quirks: She is often seen staring off into the distance for no noticeable reason.

Jin-

Order of birth: Second born

Appearance: She's a very large baby, has lilac eyes (note: like Yang's), blond hair

Aura: Dirty blond color, as in a mix between brown and yellow

Faunus?: Yes, armadillo faunus, skin can turn into scales (note: this happens when she is upset or scared, but presumably she will be able to control this later)

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: Jin. Like Jinn in the show or the alcohol.

Nicknames: Jinny

Parents (biologically): Weiss (gave birth), Blake, and Yang

Personality: She seems to go with the flow, does not cry often unless she gets scared or Adolpha starts to cry. She appears to be exceptionally close with Adolpha.

Likes: Her siblings, her family, Adolpha, Blake's purring, being rocked back and forth, warm temperatures

Dislikes: Adolpha crying, cold temperatures (note: not like her other siblings, must be very cold for her to be upset)

Quirks: Her skin can turn into scales when she gets excited sometimes

Akio-

Order of birth: Third born

Appearance: Light brown hair, brown eyes, regular sized baby, very surprisingly normal looking

Aura color: Light green/pale green

Faunus?: No

Gender: Male

Pronunciation: Akio... like the harry potter spell actually.

Nicknames: none as of yet.

Parents: Weiss (gave birth), Blake, Yang

Personality: He seems to not have any defining personality traits yet, instead seeming oddly normal for a child that is related to Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Has confused many people.

Likes: Family, siblings, aunts/uncles, grandparents, napping

Dislikes: Allergies

Quirks: He seems to have a lot of allergies that upset him and makes his parents have to make sure that the room is very clean.

Aella-

Order of birth: Fourth born (final quadruplet)

Appearance: Large yellow eyes (note: same color as Blake's), hair color is black and white (note: Yang referred to it as looking like a salt and pepper shaker), fur is the same color as her hair when it appears, is noticeably small but not like Lavey

Aura color: Crimson red

Faunus?: Yes, sugar glider faunus, has gliders that can appear between arms and legs that cannot be seen otherwise

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: Al-ya

Nicknames: Ally, Allie

Parents: Weiss (gave birth), Yang, Blake

Personality: She's exceedingly playful and enjoys playing with anything she can get her hands on. She also requires almost constant attention, and she gets upset if one of her siblings is getting any kind of attention and she's not.

Likes: attention, family, playing (note: especially with Yang's mechanical hand, which she tried to stick in her mouth on multiple occasions), playing with her gliders (note: if she isn't swaddled, he can flip herself over by playing with them, which is dangerous), especially likes Ruby's cloak and occasionally tries to replicate it by using her gliders.

Dislikes: Being ignored, her siblings crying, 

Quirks: She is constantly trying to get attention and almost always causing chaos with her gliders. She enjoys the chaos.

Triplets-

Crystal-

Order of birth: Fifth (note: first of triplets)

Appearance: Pale white hair (note: imagine Weiss'), silver eyes (note: like Ruby's), her tail is like a snow leopard (note: white with black spots), facially resembles Blake.

Aura color: Light blue, same color as Weiss'

Faunus?: Yes, snow leopard with a black and white tail

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: Crystal. Just... like the word?

Nicknames: Cy, Stal

Parents: Ruby (gave birth), Weiss, Blake

Personality: Doesn't cry super often, appears to be a bit snooty, according to Ruby and Yang. Weiss and Blake don't know how a baby can be snooty, but she just is. They say this because she is a picky eater and a light sleeper.

Likes: Family, siblings, aunts/uncles, grandparents

Dislikes: Cold temperatures (note: is prone to sneezing and shaking if the temperature drops too much)

Quirks: Is, somehow, a snooty baby. Weiss and Blake disagree.

Lavey-

Order of birth: Sixth (note: second born triplet)

Appearance: Crimson red hair (looks as if it has been dyed, but is natural), silver eyes (note: like Ruby's), is very small (note: the smallest baby, looks premature, makes team RWBY very scared)

Aura color: Dark magenta

Faunus?: No

Gender: Female

Pronunciation: Laa-v-ie

Nicknames: Lav

Parents: Ruby (gave birth), Weiss, Blake

Personality: She is very calm and easy going, doesn't seem to care about most things, doesn't have any particular things that upset her, like most of her siblings, but her small size means that she gets extra attention.

Likes: Family, uncles/aunts, grandparents, parents, siblings

Dislikes: Nothing in particular, regular baby thin'gs

Quirks: She often laughs at nothing in particular.

Auburn-

Order of birth: Seventh (note: third triplet)

Appearance: Yellow eyes (note: think Blake's eyes), dark brown hair that is almost black, facially similar to Akio.

Aura color: Navy blue

Faunus?: Yes, swordfish faunus, has gills that appear with water

Gender: Male

Pronunciation: Auburn... like the color?

Nicknames: Au, Burn

Parents: Ruby (gave birth), Weiss, Blake

Personality: Seems quiet but can easily get anxious which causes... vomit. He's a puker.

Likes: Family, uncles/aunts, grandparents, parents, siblings.

Dislikes: Loud noise, arguments, siblings crying

Quirks: Vomits. Like... a lot.


	2. A Peaceful Day...

The Belladonna-Schnee household was only a week into the summer break, but they had already fallen into a sort of pattern.

There were no longer just four parents and seven ( **seven** ) three-month-olds, but also eight students that should probably not be spending their summer with their students, but were.

Currently, Syntheia was holding Adolpha in her arms and gently rocking her back and forth.

Syntheia wasn't from team ATLS or ORIN, the two that team RWBY was close with, instead hailing from team STYN. She was here because of one woman, Alea Ajax, who had somehow been able to convince her to stay with them.

Syntheia had been a first year student until a few days ago, and she had gotten to know Alea during the tournament, having been beaten by her in the singles round.

Syntheia was of average height, giving her yet another reason to make fun of Alea for being such a giant, with short dirty blond hair that was just long enough for the hair to have a slight fold in it, which made it look perpetually wind blown (Stacey had seen it once and consistently called it the typical lesbian haircut, which had made Syntheia almost lesbian CUT HER, but she was digressing). She had light brown eyes, a shade some would even call auburn (not to be confused with the baby) that matched her skin tone almost perfectly.

The door opened, and Syntheia turned to see that Alea had joined her in the nursery. It was her turn to watch the babies, and Syntheia gently, but swiftly, put the baby in her arms.

"You're late," Syntheia said, raising an eye.

"No I'm not," Alea said, reaching down and grinning at Adolpha.

Syntheia hopped up onto the baby changing station as she watched the other girl, deciding to spend the next few minutes messing with Alea.

Alea was still looking down at the baby, and Syntheia wondered if she could see the barest hints of the girl's personality underneath her semblance.

Alea, as before mentioned, was a tall woman and the leader of team ATLS. She had vibrant blue eyes that seemed to glow with excitement or mischief half of the time, and this glow as only enhanced by her semblance when it was flared. Her semblance was very recognizable, and brought attention to Alea most the time, but Syntheia was very focused on looking past it. Alea looked down at Adolpha, who giggled and reached her little hand up to mess with Alea's short, slightly longer than chin length hair that had a sort of floppy quality, making it look almost like that of a golden retriever, which her friends constantly pointed out to her and anyone else that would listen. She wore a brown jacket, which matched her loose combat pants, with a white undershirt on underneath. Her clothing was completely contrasted by her vibrant pink watch that was attached to her wrist.

Alea had said it was a gift from her younger sister Andrea before she became a moody teenager, and all of team ATLS clearly thought it was adorable that she kept it.

Before Syntheia had the chance to antagonize her, she was distracted by the door to the nursery opening and allowing Stacey to poke her head it.

"Syntheia, you coming?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

She suddenly realized that she had a sparring session with the other three members of team ATLS.

She hopped off the changing table and followed Stacey out of the room.

Stacey was much shorter than she herself, and she had even more height difference between herself and Terresa and Alea, who were both giants in comparison to her. She had a very strict, no nonsense face that seemed to match with her personality perfectly. To highlight this effect even further, she had her long black hair up in a tight ponytail that swung back and forth as Syntheia walked behind her, almost like a tail in appearance. Even her light brown eyes held a light of frustration with general life. She wore a very prim outfit that seemed to change every day, and Syntheia was sure that she spent a good long while considering which shirt would match best with which pair of skintight pants (perhaps enough so to make the typically oblivious Alea take notice, which would, coincidentally, be enough to make Terresa and Lexey both drool and maybe get hit in the face more often than normal during training). When she spoke, she did so with a slight accent that made it clear that English was not her first language. Syntheia had recently learned that Stacey spoke Chinese, which, honestly, made a lot of sense, all things considered.

Stacey pushed open the door, and Syntheia stepped outside after her, almost getting hit with it on the way out.

"You ready to _rumble_?!" Terresa cried as soon as she saw Syntheia, grinning in excitement.

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"If you mean train and spar, then yes, I am," Syntheia said.

"You sound kinda like Stac," Terresa noted, causing Syntheia roll her eyes while Stacey glared at her girlfriend.

Terresa just laughed and gestured for Syntheia to come and join her.

Terresa was not just a tall woman, but a large one. She wasn't overweight, no, in fact, she was far from it. She was built like a tank with large, broad shoulders. She held her weapon, a large war hammer, in a loose grasp, but Syntheia knew from experience that when she lifted it her arms showed the muscles she had worked so long to gain. She had an exceedingly dark complexion that coupled with her hair nicely. Said hair, however, was kept rather short, considering it was frizzy and out of control when it was longer. However, she'd been letting it grow out some recently because Lexey enjoyed helping her by brushing it. Terresa's eyes were a dark shade of brown that was almost considered black, which were almost perpetually shown with a light of excitement and mischief. Syntheia still couldn't believe that not only two people had fallen in love with both her _and_ Stacey, considering they were practically the exact opposites, but that they had fallen in love with each other.

"You know, Ter, I'm ready to rumble, even if they don't think that's cool," Lexey said.

Terresa gave her a wry grin.

"Thanks, Lex!"

Lexey was about Syntheia's own height. She had long brown hair that was held up in a loose braid that hung about halfway down her back. Like her girlfriend Stacey, she spoke with an accent, though hers was less pronounced and far different than Stacey's own. Syntheia guessed that was because Lexey's own native language was Spanish rather than Chinese like Stacey. Lexey had dark brown eyes, which held a sort of innocence in them that Syntheia still could not describe, nor comprehend for herself. At first, she'd found it stupid, but now she found that there was a certain strength to it. Lexey, like Terresa, was dressed in casual clothing, a loose fitting pair of shorts and a shirt that didn't quite reach down to her stomach (this had been the opposite approach that Stacey had taken, but it had still worked to catch the eyes of her girlfriends, which made Lexey smirk in a way that didn't seem to fit her typical innocence and made Syntheia almost die from laughter every single time).

As the four started their sparring match, the three members of team ORIN that had decided to stay with the Belladonna-Schnees over the break sat and watched, talking to one another.

Ivy was leaning against Natalie, who had her bat wings reaching out to surround her the three of them. Rachel was sprawled out in both of their laps with a small, self satisfied smirk on her face.

Ivy was idly playing with Rachel's hair, picking at the braid and causing the brown locks to come undone and spill into her lap.

Rachel had on a pale tank top and a light yellow jacket on over it, like always, and had coupled it with a pair of black pants. She was the only one of her team that found herself "fashionable," even though Natalie told her that she had looked like a bumblebee (that had caused Rachel to banish her from their dorm room for a week and a half afterward). Despite saying that she had a great sense of fashion, she never changed it up. Her hair was typically held up in a braid, but right now it was spilled over Ivy's lap as the other girl ran her hand through it gently. She had hazel eyes that were just shy of being either brown or green. She was currently grinning up at her girlfriends with a loving look in her eyes, though there was a bit of mischief, as always. She reached up one hand and ran it down Natalie's side, causing her to squirm slightly with a blush. Rachel was disappointed when Natalie didn't set anything on fire as her face turned a light shade of pink. She'd have to embarrass Natalie more for that.

Natalie didn't look like the kind of woman that would blush at a light touch from her girlfriend. She was tall, very much so, making the already short Rachel seem more so. She had on a leather jacket and loose pants that almost looked like sweat pants, as she always did, that matched her wings almost exactly in color. Her leather jacket and shirt had small holes cut in them to allow for her prosthetic wings to poke out from underneath, where they were attached to her back against protruding bones. She hardly took off her large prosthetic wings, not even to sleep, because doing so made the pain from said bones decrease exceedingly. Her eyes and hair, which hung down just a bit longer than her chin, were just the same shade of black, which juxtaposed her pale, vampire-like skin tone. She even had on a red and black chocked that hung from her neck. In short, she didn't look like the kind of person that would blush easily. Despite that, one of her greatest struggles was keeping herself from doing so and causing fires. That meant that it seemed to be Rachel's goal in life, and even Ivy seemed to have fun with it.

Ivy giggled at the blush on Natalie's face, her head set on her shoulder.

She was looking off into the distance, not seeming to focus on anything in particular, and her eyes didn't seem to ever focus on one object or person. She, as always, had on a crimson red jacket with a zipper she _never_ closed, preferring to let the flaps of her jacket twirl in the wind around her, which never failed to get a laugh out of her, even in battle. Just a few shades darker than her jacket was Ivy's burgundy hair, which hung all the way down to the middle of her back and was hardly ever controlled or tied up. The hair accented her freckles and sky blue eyes exceedingly well, if you asked Natalie or Rachel, making her face seem to pop in crowds of thousands, even if she wasn't wearing her ridiculous outfit, which was finished with a pair of tight ocean blue leggings and a hot pink shirt under her jacket, which somehow pulled out the worst and the best in the rest of her clothing. Rachel, despite saying often that her girlfriend had terrible taste in clothing, still thought she looked adorable in it.

The three didn't pay much attention to the fighting, instead giving each other loving looks and whispering hushed words to each other.

While the students were busy, team RWBY was asleep in their bedroom. It was the middle of the afternoon, but Auburn had been throwing up even more than usual the night before, which meant that all of them had stayed up the whole night.

Yang's long blond hair was sprawled out on the pillows, even going so far as to have gotten into Weiss' mouth, which was slightly open as she slept. Weiss was curled up against Yang's chest, her head set on her shoulder, with one arm hanging across Yang's stomach with her hand landing on Blake's hip. Blake was also sleeping on Yang's shoulder, curled up like a cat as she gently slumbered. Ruby was on Weiss' other side, spooning behind her and letting her head rest on top of the former heiress' head.

Everything in the house was at peace.

A beat of silence.

That wasn't right.

There was never peace and quiet in the house.

That didn't make any sens-

Aella started to bawl at top volume. The others joined in quickly afterward.

 _That_ was more like it!

Ruby groaned and shoved her face against the back of Weiss' neck.

"No," she whined.

Weiss let out a squeal as Ruby breathed against her neck, causing her to squirm and accidentally hit Yang in the face.

Yang grunted and rolled away from Weiss, causing her to roll on top of Blake, who looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Definitely not the time for that, Yang," Blake said.

The blond took a moment to think before a smirk grew across her lips.

"Too bad, huh?"

"Yes, but this," Blake gestured at Yang on top of her, "isn't realistic."

Yang flushed while Weiss burst out cackling. Ruby groaned.

"Just get up!" the team leader cried.

"Buzzkill," Yang muttered.

The four got up and hurried to the nursery. They could leave this to Alea, but they couldn't do that. They were parents now, which meant that their lives revolved around their children.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thought I'd mention, there's been a lot that's happened lately, and we're getting close to 600k words...
> 
> So as a treat, I'm going to let you commenters and readers ask all the questions you have about the story and stuff! ANYTHING you want, and I'll respond to each and every comment, though some might not get an actual answer if they require spoilers...


	3. Doubles (Re)match

Ivy swung her sword to deflect Syntheia's nunchucks, panting.

"Dear dust!" Syntheia growled, slamming her foot against the ground. "This isn't fair!"

"What?" Ivy asked, still panting and quietly thankful that she didn't have to the break.

"You've beaten Alea, right?"

Ivy gained a small, smug smirk.

"Once or twice."

It had been twice. **Everyone** knew that because Natalie and Rachel wouldn't shut up about it.

"And she's never beaten you."

Ivy nodded.

"But I can beat you."

"Yes, you can," Ivy said, raising an eyebrow and watching the other girl.

"But I can't beat her!" Syntheia growled, throwing her hands up into the air in her frustration.

"Did you know that in the game of rock paper scissors, there is no specific option that guarantees victory. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses."

Syntheia rolled her eyes, letting out a huff as she leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Why do you care about this so much?" Ivy asked, her head tilted her to the side just slightly. "I thought that you were the type of person that could accept that you have faults, as we all do. I must have misjudged you."

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"That's not it. I **will** beat her, and I **will** see her Aura broken!" Syntheia said, eyes growing determined.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!"

"Why?"

Syntheia hesitated.

"I don't know. I guess because I'm a curious person."

Ivy stared at her, gaze focused for a moment. Syntheia was clearly freaked out by it.

"No, that's not it."

Syntheia scoffed.

"What? What do you mean 'that isn't it?'"

"That's not why you want to know," Ivy said.

Syntheia shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm going to break that pompous woman's Aura," Syntheia said, pounding her fist against her palm.

Ivy's gaze grew distant.

"You're not going to."

Syntheia gave her a small glare.

"What?! Of course I will!"

"You can't. You're not going to be able to beat her."

"You-"

"But I have a plan."

"Go on," Syntheia said, one eyebrow raised in intrigue.

-

"Rematch."

Alea looked up from where she was standing, holding Adolpha in her hands and rocking her up and down gently.

"What?"

"Rematch. I call a rematch."

"I already beat you a third time, are you still on about this?" Alea asked, giving her a crooked smirk.

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"Of course I am!" she hissed.

"But it's my turn to watch them," Alea all but whined, holding Adolpha closer to her chest and giving her a small smirk as she reached one hand up to play with her fingers. "I don't have time for a fight that we've already had. Isn't that right, Dolphie? Isn't that right?!"

Adolpha giggled and reached up toward Alea's finger, grasping at it and making the team leader laugh quietly.

"Aw, aren't you just the cutest?" Alea asked. "You and I have a lot in common, don't we? People call _me_ a puppy too!" Alea whispered with a chuckle.

Syntheia stared at her with disbelief.

" **You**? Why?!"

Alea looked up at her with a smirk.

"Guess you'd have to win a match to find out, wouldn't you?" Alea gave her a wink, and Syntheia glared darkly at her.

"That's what I'm **trying** to do!" she hissed.

"Then you aren't doing it very well because I'm getting bored of doing the same thing over and over again."

"Well, I have a new twist that I think you're just going to **love** ," Syntheia said, leaning over a crib and consequentially rocking Auburn gently back and forth and causing him to giggle.

She was now a few inches away from Alea, looking up at her with her eyes glowing with excitement and mischief.

Alea took a moment to consider.

"Fine. Stacey? Hold my baby."

-

"So what's this special little twist you have?" Alea asked.

"Doubles! We're having a doubles match!" Syntheia cried with a grin.

"That doesn't sound exactly like a rematch, considering it's entirely different from the match we had before," Alea said, a smirk on her lips as she crossed her arms against her chest, tilted slightly to the side as she watched the other girl.

Syntheia gave her a playful glare.

"It's a match, and it is being redone. It is a rematch. This means that it's still a rematch, so let's get on with it."

"Right... well, who are our partners going to be?" Alea asked.

"That's the best part," Syntheia smirked, "we get to pick."

"Alright, I'll take-"

Syntheia held up her hand in front of Alea with a smug smirk on her face.

"Wait a moment, Ally. I thought that you were chivalrous. Would you really deny a lady the first pick of a match?" Syntheia asked.

Alea hesitated, her brows furrowing.

"I... of course you can go first."

"Great!" Syntheia cried with a smug look. "Then I pick Ivy."

Alea's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-you do?" she asked, stumbling over her words.

Syntheia smirked and leaned a bit closer.

"Yes, I do. Something wrong with that? Cat got your tongue, Ally?"

The team leader's eyes widened just slightly.

"Nope. Nope! Nothing wrong, I just... didn't expect that. I didn't know that you two were so closer," Alea said, reaching one hand back to rub at her neck awkwardly. It looked as if she was trying to flirt with her small smirk on her face.

"Well, we are, and she's my partner, so who do you pick?" Syntheia asked.

Alea's mind whirled. Syntheia wasn't playing fair, that was clear. Or, well, she was playing fair, but Alea didn't know the rules, so she felt like she was being taken advantage of... but two could play at this game, couldn't they?

But... who to pick? Who could Alea pick that would level the playing field and allow her to combat Ivy? It would have to be someone that was experienced, someone that didn't lose to Ivy almost constantly every time they practiced their sparring against one another.

Alea's eyes widened, and she turned back to look at Syntheia with a smug, self satisfied look on her face.

"I choose... Yang."

Syntheia's smirk **fell**.

"Wh-what?!"

"You heard me! I choose Yang Belladonna-Schnee as my partner."

"That's... that's not fair!" Syntheia cried.

Alea smirked.

"I wasn't aware that there were rules to be broken," Alea said, leaning forward and getting closer to Syntheia. She reached her hand up and slowly moved it toward her new friend's face. She poked her nose.

Syntheia hesitated before she growled, turning away from Alea quickly.

"Whatever! Ives and I can take you two!" Syntheia said, stalking off.

Ivy had a small smirk on her face as she watched the other girl on her team.

Alea raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend, waiting from an explanation from Ivy (whether it be a spoken one or one that she communicated through a look).

She didn't get one, instead just getting a mysterious and wordless smirk from Ivy.

Alea tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow in question.

Ivy shook her head and raised a finger to her mouth, indicating that she would not be giving anything away.

"Aw, but Ives, I thought **I** was your best friend."

Ivy waved a hand dismissively.

"Obviously you are, but there are some things that you just aren't ready to learn yet."

Alea frowned in confusion, but let it go.

"Well, why don't you go get your partner," Syntheia said, rounding on Alea and giving her a raised eyebrow. "Unless she doesn't _want_ to join. That is, you **did** ask her before, right?"

Alea hesitated.

"Of course. Let me get her."

-

Alea stepped into the nursery.

"Hey, Yang, can I ask you for a favor?" she asked.

"What?" Yang asked.

"I need you to spar with us!"

"But we didn't have one scheduled, and I'm helping Rubes watch the kids."

"Please?! I need a doubles partner, and I have to beat Ivy **and** Syntheia!"

Yang snickered.

"How did you get yourself caught in this situation?"

"Syntheia tricked me."

Yang glanced at Ruby, suddenly smirking.

"Well alright! Rubes, watch the kids!"

Yang darted off, grabbing Alea by the hand and dragging her outside before Ruby could say anything to stop her.

-

The fight ended quickly.

Alea knew all of Syntheia's weaknesses, and she was able to take her out quickly while Yang guarded her from Ivy's attacks. After that, the two had double teamed Ivy, and she was quickly taken down. She could defeat Alea on her own, but not when she also had a very experienced teacher that was fighting her.

Syntheia's Aura was broken, and she had been laying on the ground since it had happened.

Alea leaned down, offering her a hand up.

Syntheia let out a groan then, putting both of her hands over her face and curling up in a little ball.

"Uh... you alright?" Alea asked, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" Syntheia sprawled back out, slapping her hands down on the ground in defeat. "No! I'm not alright! I lost! Again!"

"Hey, you're a really talented huntress in training and you're-"

"That's not what's pissing me off!" Syntheia cried. "I lost, so I _don't get to see you without your semblance_!"

Alea hesitated.

"Is that really what's upsetting you the most?" Alea asked.

Syntheia growled.

"Yes! Why is everyone so surprised by that?!" Syntheia cried.

"Because it's kinda stupid," Stacey called.

Syntheia rolled her eyes while Alea waved for Stacey to shut up.

"Why is this so important to you?" Alea asked, reaching one hand out an putting it on Syntheia's own. Alea had a small, caring look on her face, and Syntheia looked away, not letting herself look back at her and the fake face before her.

"It's not."

Alea reached forward and gently took Syntheia's face in her hands, gently tilting her until she was forced to look at Alea.

"Hey, it's alright. We're friends, you don't have to lie to me, Syn."

Syntheia averted her eyes, huffing.

"It's just... how am I supposed to know my friend when I haven't **met** them?" she asked.

Alea frowned.

"Haven't met... Syntheia, I'm still the same person without my semblance. I still say the same things, think the same things, do the same things... I just act a little different."

Syntheia didn't respond, and she didn't look at Alea either.

Alea sighed and pushed herself to her feet.

"Hey, Yang, how much do you still have left from your semblance?"

Yang smirked, her body starting to glow suddenly.

Syntheia finally glanced at Alea, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you doing, Ally?"

Alea glanced over with a small smirk.

"If you have to meet 'the real me,' then I'll introduce you. Yang?"

The blond grinned and nodded, swinging her fist and using all of her stored up energy to slam it against Alea.

She was thrown back, slamming against the ground. She shimmered slightly, and then her Aura fully broke.

Syntheia pushed herself up some to get a better look, and Alea rolled over on the ground to look at her, a goofy yet tired look on her face.

"Hey, Syntheia. Pleasure to meet you!"


	4. Meeting Alea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to the new beta reader: TheLonelyDraconequus!!

Alea laughed as she held out her hand, getting tugged to her feet by Lexey, who was checking her for injuries. Stacey was glaring at Yang with her arms crossed against her chest while Terresa laughed.

"You should have been more careful," Stacey said, causing Yang's hands to rise defensively.

"Hey! She asked me to break it, so I broke it! She's out of the count, so I did my part! Now I gotta go before my sister kills me," Yang said, backing out of the yard and inside.

Alea, now on her feet, turned her blindingly brilliant grin on Syntheia.

"Well," Alea stood on her own and gestured down at herself up and down, "what do you think, Syntheia?" she gave her another grin and a quiet giggle. "Is it everything you thought it would be?"

Syntheia just stared at her with wide eyes.

"I think I broke her," Alea said. She turned to glance at her girlfriends before she looked back at Syntheia, giggling. "Yeah, I... I'm a little different than you expected, aren't I?"

"I, uh," Syntheia looked away from her and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, you're, uh... a bit different than I expected, yeah."

Alea stepped forward so that she was in Syntheia's line of vision. She gave a grin and another giggle ( _Dust, how is she able to giggle all of the sudden? She's never giggled before!_ ) before making sure that she was centered in Syntheia's line of sight.

"Hey! You put in a lot of effort to see me without my semblance, so at least _look_ at me," Alea said playfully, still beaming at her. The brightness of her attitude was nearly blinding.

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively.

"Am I everything you hoped for?" Alea asked.

The team leader was beaming with an excited glint to her eyes, looking down at Syntheia with just a hint of nervousness. She was still standing close to Syntheia, making sure that her friend was looking at her. Syntheia barely stopped herself from looking away from the blindingly bright girl.

"And more, Ally," she said, rolling her eyes again.

Alea giggled once again.

"Well, how about we go relieve Yang and Ruby? I think they're about to have a little argument, so we should go save the kids, right?" Alea asked.

"Uh, yeah," Syntheia said.

Alea reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside.

"And you can get the chance to see the," Alea grinned and winked at Syntheia, "real me some more."

"Sounds great, Ally," she said.

-

Something was definitely wrong.

This... **this** was Alea?

Syntheia didn't know why she was surprised. It made so much more sense than Alea's normal actions. It really did. But the idea of Alea acting like... like such a... well, she'd heard the word thrown around before, and she had thought it was stupid, but... she acted like a puppy. Energetic, fun, easily distracted, innocent... cute...

Syntheia groaned, causing Alea to turn and give her a confused, worried look.

"Hey, Syn, you alright? Anything you need to talk about?" Alea asked, reaching out an putting her hand on Syntheia's own.

_Well, for starters, I think that I preferred when your Aura wasn't broken and your semblance was intact._

"Nah, I'm alright," Syntheia said, arms crossed against her chest as she watched the children in their cribs.

"Is... is it about my semblance? Do you not... like the real me?" Alea asked. She was hesitant, Syntheia had hardly ever seen her like _that_ before, and she pulled her hand back into her lap, starting to fidget.

 _Haha, not like you without your semblance?_ Syntheia thought. _That is **hardly** the problem here._

"I-I get that it's really shocking, and you were friends with _semblance_ me, but not-"

Syntheia reached out and patted a hand on Alea's own.

"No, no, don't worry, Ally. It's not bad, just a little shock. Besides, I think you're pretty awesome either way. So stop worrying about it, I ain't going anywhere."

Alea **beamed** at her in excitement, leaning closer and setting her head on Syntheia's shoulder.

"Thanks, Syn."

"Uh... yeah, yeah no problem."

-

Syntheia stepped out of the nursery, letting out a breath of relief as she leaned back against the door.

She groaned, holding her face in her hands.

She'd told Alea she needed to use the restroom to get the chance to have a few minutes alone, but what she really should have said was "yeah I think I may have had a heart attack and need a few minutes to catch my breath and call 911, no I don't need your help, please don't touch me. Ever."

"You alright?"

Syntheia jumped, pulling her hands away from her face and looking up to see who had shocked her.

Ivy was leaning back against the wall, one hand purposefully sitting on it, while she watched Syntheia with a smirk.

"Course. I'm fine," Syntheia said quickly, forcing herself to stand up and crossing her arms defensively.

"You liking seeing Alea without her Aura?" she asked.

"Course! Why wouldn't I?"

Ivy pushed herself back up and started to walk away.

Just when Syntheia thought they were done and she was out of the clear, Ivy turned and gave her one last smirk.

"Careful what you wish for, Syntheia."

Ivy turned the corner, and she was gone.

Syntheia sighed and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind herself. She leaned against the counter, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Calm. The heck. Down," she muttered to herself. "You're fine. This," she gestured at her face, which had turned a light shade of red, "is all," she gestured at her chest, where her heart was beating a mile a minute, "stupid. You're fine. You're _Syntheia Celeste_ , and this is _not_ happening. You don't do this. Now go back out there and you tell Alea that she's an imbecile, and that her hair does _not_ smell like what you would imagine a rainbow would. I mean, that's stupid! You can't even **smell** rainbows, Syntheia! They're the refraction of light through water in the atmosphere, so they have no smell. You go back out there, and you tell Alea that you _don't care_ about how excited she is to know you like her without her semblance. And you're **definitely** not going to say that her laugh is adorable. You can _do_ this. You just have to make it through until her Aura's recharged."

Syntheia nodded to herself in the mirror before taking a deep breath and walking back out of the bathroom.

"Nice pep talk!" Ivy called.

Syntheia gave her a scathing glare, face turning red.

"Will you stop that?!"

"No."

-

Turns out, nothing was as easy as Syntheia thought it would be. Or, well, whispered to herself in the mirror while trying to get a grip.

Alea didn't seem to notice her freak out (how could she? She lived with her head in the clouds and her eyes on the stars, of course she wouldn't notice that!) and Syntheia was grateful for that fact, but it was still frustrating.

Alea seemed even more easily distracted than she usually did. Perhaps that was an effect of her aura being broken, or maybe her semblance just distracted from her energetic personality.

She was currently holding Aella in her arms while rocking both Auburn and Akio in their cribs with her feet.

Ivy had joined the pair in the room, something that Syntheia was both thankful and resentful toward her for, and had decided that, apparently, the most important thing in life was getting Alea to have some fun.

Ivy was twisting and twirling between the cribs, dancing to the beat that only she could hear.

She landed beside Alea and plucked the baby from her hands, setting the little faunus in her crib.

Alea laughed as Ivy tugged her in for a dance, allowing the other girl to make her spin to the beat that she couldn't hear. Despite not hearing the music, Alea fell into the rhythm quickly, flowing beside Ivy and throwing her head back to laugh.

Since when did she dance?! Dust, since when _could_ she dance?! Alea was a great fighter, but she was also exceedingly clumsy when she wasn't battling, so how could she be so good at this?! Syntheia had no idea how, but she was forced to watch as the team leader moved to the beat neither could hear.

After a minute, Ivy gave Alea a look, which made the team leader's adorable grin widen.

She spun to face Syntheia, perfectly on beat, and held out her hand in invitation.

"Care to do me the honor of this dance, Syntheia?" she asked.

There was no smug smirk that said this was a joke, no wink that proclaimed that she was messing with Syntheia, no flirtatious glint to her eyes...

There was just an adorable puppy-like grin as the team leader looked at Syntheia hopefully.

Syntheia glanced away, arms folded against her chest.

"Sorry, Ally, but I don't dance."

"Aw, come on," Alea said, her smile turning into a pout in a moment ( _dust, that shouldn't be legal_ ). " **Everyone** can dance, Syn!"

Syntheia tried not to look at her, she really did.

"Everyone _can_ , yes, but that doesn't mean that they choose to. And I am a very proud member of those that don't."

Alea looked at her with an expression that could only be described as the look you got from your dog when you accidentally kicked it.

"Please? For me?"

"What makes you think your little pouting act will work on me, girl?" Syntheia asked, raising and eyebrow at her friend.

Alea just stared at her pleadingly.

Syntheia growled at herself before rolling her eyes.

"Alright... alright! Fine!" Syntheia cried.

"Great!"

Alea's smile was back in full force as she all but leapt at the chance, taking Syntheia's hand in her own and pulling her further into the middle of the room.

"This is stupid," Syntheia said, rolling her eyes as Alea leaned closer and started to show her the steps. "You _know_ I hate dancing."

"Well _I'm_ going to convince you that dancing is the **best**! When I'm done with you, your whole perspective going to change!"

Syntheia forced a laugh.

"You're quite full of yourself, Ally."

Alea gave her a wide grin and started to spin Syntheia in a circle with a laugh.

Syntheia's eyes went wide and she stiffened as Alea tried to guide her. She stumbled as her legs locked, and Alea moved forward to catch her.

"Hey, just relax, Syn. Go with the flow," Alea said with a grin.

Syntheia raised an eyebrow as she looked up at the other girl.

"That's not exactly my specialty, Ally."

"Well, maybe we can both learn how together," Alea replied.

"I don't do well in teams, you know that," Syntheia said.

As they'd spoken, Syntheia had started to follow her friend's movements, falling into the pattern of the dance.

Alea gained a slightly playful glint to her eyes and leaned forward to dip Syntheia.

"Well, you seem like you're getting better."

Syntheia hesitated as she looked up at her friend. Alea was still giving her that playful grin that was _not_ making Syntheia's heart race.

"Yeah, uh...," Syntheia went to pull out of the dance, but Alea continued to lead her through it, giving her no chance at escape.

 _This is stupid. So, so **stupid**!_ Syntheia thought with an internal growl. _There's nothing 'special' about Alea, nothing that makes her so charming, nothing that makes her worthy of being beloved by everyone. She's just a stupid little kid that can't stop smiling. See? She's nothing special. I'm fine. It was just a misunderstanding and-_

Alea let her go as if the song had ended, giving her a blinding smile and bowing playfully.

"Thank you for doing me the honor of a dance."

Syntheia rolled her eyes, but her face flushed.

"Uh... yeah, no problem."

Maybe it wasn't a misunderstanding.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next few chapters will be 100% focused on canon characters! don't worry!


	5. Catching Up

Team RWBY had been lucky enough to get the chance to leave their house filled with three month olds because their baby sisters were watching them, and they were using the chance to go to meet up with their friends in the park.

Weiss was barely awake, but she still seemed excited about getting to see their friends after the summer had started.

She was currently talking with her sister, who was currently five months pregnant at this point. Winter was complaining about having to deal with morning sickness and Weiss was commiserating. The rest of team RWBY was avoiding the pair because they didn't want to have to hear anything else about throw up considering Weiss had always complained about it.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Penny were both quietly talking. Penny was wondering how she could help Winter and keep her happy while she was pregnant, and Ruby was just telling her to commiserate with Winter when she was upset. Penny was mentally taking notes.

Neo was signing to Coco, the two somehow referencing both taking care of their pregnant wives, soon to be born children, and any mischief they could be starting. It was certainly an interesting conversation.

At the same time, Ciel was talking to Ilia, telling her that they had decided to name their children Romelle and Romy after her wife's old, and sadly dead, friend. Ilia seemed excited at the notion of children's names, and she had been asking the others what they had named their children.

Penny and Winter, who had a single son on the way, had decided to call him Cooper. 

Coco and Velvet had decided to call their own triplets Saffron, Rosemary, and Colby, and the two were clearly excited to have them.

It was about half an hour into the meeting when Sun finally couldn't wait any longer, and he darted over to grab his wives by the hands and give them meaningful looks.

Ilia rolled her eyes.

"We agreed to wait, Sun," she whispered.

Sun gave her a pleading look, and she sighed.

"Do we _really_ have to wait?" he whined.

Ilia glanced at Pyrrha, who had a small smile on her face. She hadn't said anything, but it was clear that she was just as excited to share their news with the others as Sun was.

Ilia let out a long breath before starting to shake her head.

"Fine. Fine! Alright, we can tell them, I guess, but... you _owe_ me, former Wukong."

Sun **beamed** , his tail starting to wag back and forth in excitement.

He then dragged both of his wives back over to the group and started to speak.

"Guys! Guys! We have some **amazing** news!" Sun cried.

"Are you pregnant?" Nora asked, arms crossed as she watched her teammate with a small smirk.

His tail dropped.

"You knew?"

"Well it was only a matter of time! You've been baby crazy for as long as I've known you, so of course you knocked one or both of your ladies up," Nora said, rolling her eyes. Despite her words, she was already moving forward and pulling him in for a hug. "Congrats, man."

Sun grinned and pulled her closer, lifting her off the ground in his excitement.

"Thanks, Nora!"

"So who is it?" Yang asked, grinning at her lesbro.

Pyrrha smiled nervously and waved at Yang, causing the blond to beam at her.

"Yeah! That's right, Sun! I told you, put a baby in them before they get away! That's what I did with Weiss!" she said, giving the faunus a wink before she pulled Pyrrha in for a hug.

"How are you feeling?" Yang asked, putting one hand on Pyrrha's stomach gently and checking her.

Pyrrha laughed and shook her head.

"I'm fine, Yang, I'm only a week pregnant."

"You waited a week to tell us?!" Nora cried in shock and anger.

"Well we had to take a pregnancy test," Ilia said, rolling her eyes. She was currently in a very long hug from Blake, the cat faunus purring against her.

"I'm assuming you used the Dust?" Ren asked, having just given Sun a very in character hand shake of congratulations.

"Yup! I'm so excited!" Sun gushed, grinning at Yang as she raced forward and grabbed him, lifting him into the air and starting to twirl around in a circle.

Yang, still holding Sun, turned to face Pyrrha and Ilia.

"You have done a great service. You have provided more Sun to the world, and that is the greatest thing that you could have ever done. Thank you for doing the world an outstanding favor that we will not live to regret."

Sun burst out laughing, and Yang joined in on it.

"I think it actually might be a disservice," Ilia said, elbowing Sun with a small grin.

Sun rolled his eyes.

"You see this? You see the crap I have to put up with, even with my wives?" he asked Yang, who started laughing again.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one. You've met Weiss," Yang said.

The conversation between the group continued, everyone talking about how excited they were for the three of them.

"So just one of you is pregnant?" Blake asked Ilia with a small smile. "Good idea. Seven kids is a lot."

Ilia rolled her eyes.

"Sun seems to be under the impression that if we aren't having twins or more that _I'm_ getting pregnant too, and I'm going to have to burst his bubble soon," the chameleon faunus said.

They continued to talk about children, and Sun suddenly realized how different their conversations were now than they used to be. What had once been them fighting for their lives and talking about the uncertainty of life... was now replaced with families and children. It was an unexpected, but definitely welcome, change.

It was beautiful to have watched their friendships turn into life long companionships, and Sun knew that it would stay like that no matter what. He'd get to watch their kids grow up, and they'd get to watch his! And that was an entirely new kind of adventure, one he couldn't wait to begin.


	6. Feelings

Syntheia fell back against the bed with a **thump** , letting her hands come up to cover her face.

She groaned and let out a sigh, running both hands down her face slowly. She looked up at the ceiling with contempt, as if it were somehow to blame for the mess she found herself in.

 _This is stupid. **I'm** stupid,_ Syntheia thought to herself.

How had she let this happen?! She'd been so dust damn careful!

Syntheia didn't _do_ emotions. She didn't do crushes or the little butterflies in her stomach. She didn't let anyone get close enough to hurt her, and the few women she'd dated had all been like her in that way. Just a few dates to make herself feel less lonely, and then Syntheia was gone. No emotional attachments. That was her style.

So this whole... **thing**?! It definitely wasn't her style.

And _Alea_ wasn't her style.

Syntheia had a very specific type. She liked the cold, emotionally withdrawn that didn't want to know anything about her, someone that wouldn't ask why she flinched when someone touched her from behind, someone who wouldn't care that she didn't _do_ emotions.

So, once again, it's important to say that Alea was **not** her type. Alea was cute and innocent, saw the best in people, and was more than a bit nosy. She wanted to help, wanted to know why Syntheia slept curled up on the couch instead of on a bed like the rest of them. Alea _cared_ , and Syntheia didn't like that.

Except, you see, this is where the problem arose. She _did_ like that.

And it was stupid.

The moment Syntheia had gotten to know Alea, she had told herself that she would **not** be one of the idiots that fell for Alea. She wasn't going to be like those fools in her history class that stared at Alea like she'd put the sun in the sky. She wasn't going to be like the boys and girls that struggled to get Alea's attention for any reason. She **wasn't** going to be like the idiots that glared at Alea's girlfriends like they'd claimed some beautiful prize that they wanted for themselves.

Syntheia didn't do emotions. That meant that she didn't do crushes, she didn't do the butterflies, and she **definitely** didn't do jealousy.

Except Syntheia could see Alea's face in her mind's eye, with her adorable and sweet little grin. And suddenly Syntheia was _doing_ emotions, and she couldn't believe that. She didn't do emotions, she really didn't, and some stupid little crush wasn't going to change that.

She could remember when she first met Alea.

_/_

_Syntheia was sitting in her chair in history class, tilting it back slightly so that only two of the legs were on the ground. They were about five weeks into school at this point, and it was weird that she hadn't seen this mysterious woman that everyone was talking about._

_The charmer, the lady and man killer that had stolen the hearts of all of her classmates, apparently. Alea Ajax._

_Syntheia had heard she was in her history class, so she decided to get a good look at her for once._

_The door opened, and Alea stepped in, talking flirtatiously with her teammates, which Syntheia had heard she did a **lot**._

_Syntheia watched her, and raised an eyebrow._

_She was hot, yes, she could admit that, but Syntheia didn't see anything too special about her. There was nothing that really made her stand out, and Syntheia was quite sure that whatever personality the girl really had, she wasn't showing it off here, considering **nobody** acted like that in real life._

_Syntheia watched her most of class, trying to get a good impression of her, but it soon became boring._

_Until..._

_Alea burst out laughing at something Lexey had said, leaning over to bump her teammate with her shoulder as she chuckled. Her expression had changed some, showing a light of something... else underneath that act of hers._

_Perhaps she had a good smile and laugh..._

_But that didn't mean anything about her personality._

_Syntheia crossed her arms against her chest and looked away from Alea, the slightest hint of red on her face as she did so._

_Alea was just a player, nothing special about her, and Syntheia refused to be played like the idiots in her class._

_/_

Her first impression had, apparently, been wrong, and Syntheia was willing to admit that now. But said impression had been why she had treated Alea like she had during their fight in the tournament.

_/_

_Alea held out her hand out for Syntheia to shake, giving her a small smirk._

_Syntheia watched her hand with a narrowed gaze before she looked away._

_She was **not** going to let this girl try and put any moves on her. She was **better** than that._

_/_

Alea had been home free after the match. She didn't need to talk to Alea ever again, didn't need to see her, she just had to disappear again and the team leader would probably never remember her.

And yet Syntheia had drawn her in, and she'd found herself becoming **friends** with the other girl. That had been a stupid mistake. Because it had made Syntheia's promise to herself become far harder to stand by.

Syntheia groaned again and curled up on the bed again.

It wasn't fair, if you asked Syntheia. Alea couldn't be **both** charming _and_ adorable! Seriously! That was too much for one person to have, and that meant it wasn't Syntheia's fault for falling for her. Alea was just...

Syntheia found herself getting distracted, an idle smile growing across her lips as she thought about her newest friend. Alea was just _different_. Her smile... her laugh...

Syntheia's eyes widened when she realized what had just happened, and she shot up in the bed.

"Oh dust," she groaned. "No, no, no, no...," she muttered.

It was too late.

Syntheia rubbed at her face in her frustration.

She was one of the idiots, one of the fools that had fallen for her charm. But despite everything she had tried to keep herself from doing so, she had ended up **dumber** than the people she had judged because she had just set herself up for a summer of pain.

But the worst of the worst was that Syntheia had what she despised the most.

She had gained (she shivered) feelings. She had... a crush.

Syntheia groaned and flopped back on the bed sufferingly.

"This is the worst."

She'd judged Stacey, Terresa, and Lexey from the moment she had seen them, watching how all three girls were all over their team leader, clearly in love with her and struggling to get her attention. Now they were always smug at having not just their team leader, but _each other_ , and seemed to take any opportunity they could to show how proud they were to be dating Alea and each other.

Now Syntheia found herself understanding it.

If she had the opportunity, then she'd definitely show Alea off to literally anyone who would listen to her, and even those that wouldn't.

Syntheia grabbed a pillow and slapped it over her face, starting to scream into it to muffle the sound of her freak out.

She was screwed, royally so, in every way that she could possibly imagine.

She blamed Alea for being so dust damn cute without her semblance. Like seriously! How could Syntheia ever have been expected to know that her friend could be so adorable?!

She guessed that didn't matter, considering the job was already done. She had a dirty, disgusting, and _frustrating_ crush on _Alea Ajax_ of all people, and she didn't know what to do about it.


	7. A Gift

Blake walked toward the nursery and pushed open the door with a fond smile on her face.

She let Alea and Syntheia leave, the latter oddly quiet as Alea talked about a rematch.

"I thought you'd be _begging_ for a chance to break my Aura again," Alea said with a smirk and an elbow to Syntheia's arm.

Syntheia made a noncommittal sound and shook her head, forcing a grin.

"Nah, I already saw you without it. Gotta say, I'm not that impressed."

"What? Come on, you know you love me," Alea said with a playful smirk.

Syntheia flushed.

"What?! No I don't!"

The last thing that Blake heard from the two of them was Alea's echoing laughter. Clearly she didn't believe her friend.

Blake ignored the two, other than a small smile that grew across her lips as she was reminded of Weiss before they'd gotten together.

Blake leaned down over the cribs, watching her children with a fond look on her eyes.

She looked over the seven, and she found that all but one were sleeping.

Little Akio was crying softly to himself, and she stepped forward worriedly, putting her hand into the crib and letting him reach up at it. He grabbed her fingers happily, calming as soon as she was near. She moved her finger a bit, and he began to cry again.

Blake hesitated before an idea grew in her head. She pulled away from him gently and quietly walked over to a little toy bin and started to silently rummage through it. Finally, she suddenly found something familiar, and a smile grew across her lips.

Blake gently pulled the stuffed toy into her hand and held it gently, running her thumb up and down its fur.

"Hey... it's good to see you again," she muttered, turning and walking over to the crib, where Akio was still quietly crying.

Blake leaned down, setting one hand on the crib's side before reaching the other to put down the toy next to Akio.

"Here you go," Blake whispered.

Akio blinked before he reached one hand out and squeezed at the toy lion's mane. He giggled.

Blake pushed the toy closer to Akio, and he giggled again, laying beside it happily.

"This little guy's name," Blake lifted one of the stuffed animal's legs up playfully to mess up with it, "is Mr. Roar. Mr. Roar, this is Akio."

Akio giggled and laughed as the toy continued to gently be played with by Blake.

"You know," Blake whispered, "this little guy's been with me for a long time, longer than I can remember, actually. He's... he's pretty important to me, but I don't think there's anything I'd rather do with him that pass him on to you. And maybe one day," Blake felt tears in her eyes, but she didn't want to let them fall, slightly afraid that it might land on Akio's face and hurt him, though that was probably stupid to worry about, "you'll be passing it onto your own kids. Or maybe one day, you'll grow up and find that you don't like stuffed animals, or maybe you'll want one of your own. Either way, he'll always be there for you, just like me."

Blake grinned and wiped at her eyes when she saw that Akio was still giggling and playing with the fur on the lion's mane.

"Now you," she looked down at Mr. Roar and smiled at him through tears that she wouldn't let fall, "you were always there for me. When I was scared, when I had a nightmare, when I just needed someone... I want... I want you to take care of him, alright? You've done so much for me, and this... this is the last thing that I'm going to ask of you."

Blake knew it was probably weird for her to talk to the stuffed animal itself, but she didn't care. She was alone, and this was important to her.

"I love you," Blake whispered to Akio, gently kissing his forehead before she pulled back and left him to fall asleep much easier with the stuffed animal.

Mr. Roar didn't change expressions, Blake knew that, truly she did, but for just a split second, she thought she saw a look of bitter sweet in his charcoal black eyes. Blake looked away from the toy, reaching one hand down and running her fingers through Akio's hair gently.

She withdrew and started to lean against the wall, watching her children with tears in her eyes.

Her ears flickered when she heard a quiet creak of the door. She turned over to look at it, finding that three forms were looking in and watching her lovingly.

Blake's face flushed when she found that all three of her wives were watching her, her ears flickering and folding closer to the base of her head in her embarrassment.

"That was so cute!" Ruby whisper-yelled, darting forward and throwing her arms around Blake's shoulders and pulling her close.

Blake flushed deeper and wrapped her arms around Blake's waist again to hold her and make sure she didn't fall.

"It _was_ pretty cute," Weiss agreed with a slightly reluctant expression.

Blake laughed and reached out to pull Weiss into the embrace as well.

"It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen," Yang said in a quiet hiss, grabbing the three and pulling them close to her chest.

Blake rolled her eyes and felt her face turn impossibly redder as she let her head fall on Yang's shoulder.

"I just wanted to help him get some sleep," Blake muttered.

"It was adorable, and you know it!" Ruby hissed, leaning up so that she could connect her lips with Blake's own for a short moment.

Blake flushed and chuckled, grinning down at her wife lovingly.

"Only because you walked in, Sugar."

Ruby blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey! Stop trying to change the subject, you're the one that's being loved right now, and you can't change that by passing it onto me," Ruby said quickly.

"She's right, ya know," Yang said with a chuckle.

"I'm not trying to pass it to someone else. I'm lucky enough to have the love of three wonderful women, so of course I'm not trying to pass **that** up," Blake said.

"Always the charmer," Weiss whispered.

Blake let out a quiet laugh and pulled closer to her wives lovingly. She really was lucky to have them here with her, and she was even luckier that she had seven beautiful children to share with them.


	8. Ignore Alea Day

It wasn't her fault. Really, Syntheia thought that she deserved better than this. If she hadn't met Alea, then everything would have been fine. She would have been happy to live her life without every having to admit she had the _capability_ to have crushes.

As it was, however, Syntheia **had** met Alea, and now she was struggling to figure out what she wanted.

She wanted to be away from Alea and ignore it, she wanted to to spend more time with her. She wanted to ask her out, but she knew that was stupid _and_ impossible, considering Alea was already dating three girls.

Three girls that Syntheia actually thought were genuinely nice people, so she didn't want to mess anything up there, even if she could, which she knew she couldn't.

So Syntheia was stuck in a state of limbo.

Alea, true to character, didn't seem to notice that Syntheia had feelings for her that were _not_ exactly in the friendship variety, and seemed to just find them as **really** close friends.

Alea even seemed smug about the fact that she had gotten to be friends with Syntheia, which just made it all the more awkward for her.

But, despite all of this, she was still trying her best to act the same. Syntheia hoped these feelings would go away soon, that Alea would be the high school crush that Syntheia never had that would fizzle out in a few weeks, or at least hopefully before the end of the summer, because it would be awkward to be spending the rest of her break with the girl she had feelings for, her girlfriends, her best friend who seemed to know she liked said girl, and seven babies.

The seven babies part wasn't awkward, but it was definitely worth throwing in there, considering it was another sign of how much her life has gone off the rails.

Seriously, when had it come to this?!

Her life had been... well, it had been _bad_ , mostly, but at least it hadn't been complicated. And now it was...

Well, it was filled with-

"Alea!" Stacey cried, causing Syntheia to jump out of her thoughts with a slight blush on her face that she attempted to get rid of.

"Hey, babe!" Alea said excitedly, a crooked smirk on her face. She reached forward and put her hands on Stacey's hips, looking as if she was about to kiss her.

Syntheia was about to look away, but was surprised to see that Stacey lifted her hand up and caught Alea's lips between her fingers.

Stacey was blushing, her eyes flickering down to Alea's lips, but she forced her gaze to Alea.

"You know what day it is. Get your little paws off of me," Stacey said.

Alea gave her the best pleading look she could, the smallest hint of herself underneath her semblance seeping through, and Stacey glared at her.

Alea sighed sadly, taking her hands off of Stacey's waist and gently pulling her lips out from between her fingers.

"I know, I know, it's just so _mean_ ," Alea whined.

"It's not mean, it's therapeutic," Stacey said, her arms crossed.

"It's literally called 'Ignore Alea Day,' how could that not be mean?" Alea asked with another pout.

"Because you're overwhelming, in a good way and we love every part of you, but sometimes we just need a little time away so that you don't overwhelm us."

Alea sighed and gave her a pouting look.

"I know, I know... but you know I don't **mean** to be overwhelming. I'm sorry, Stac."

"You just have a big personality and semblance, Al. We need a little bit of time to recharge. And you're trying to manipulate me into feeling guilty about wanting a day apart. _That's_ why Ter and Lex always send me to remind you, you _know_ that," Stacey said, her arms crossed against her chest as she stared at her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

"I know, I know... at least I'll have Syntheia and Ivy to keep me company though," Alea said, trying to give her girlfriend a smirk.

Syntheia's eyes widened, and she quickly looked away from her, trying to act like she hadn't been listening.

"What? No way," Stacey said with an eye roll. "Syntheia's coming with us."

"What?!" Alea and Syntheia said together, staring at Stacey like she was crazy.

"Have fun with Ivy, Al," Stacey said, reaching out and grabbing Syntheia by the hand before dragging her out of the room.

Syntheia was too shocked to say anything until she was out of the room, when she pulled herself to a stop with wide eyes, staring at Stacey in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, but I'm... I'm going _with_ you three? This seems like a girlfriend thing, and I really, **really** don't want to intrude, so it'd probably be best if I just-"

"Stayed here drooling over our girlfriend?" Stacey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Syntheia's mouth went dry.

"W-what? Of course no-"

"Relax, Theia, I'm just messing with you," Stacey gave her a small smirk.

Syntheia forced a laugh.

"Not about liking Alea, we all know you do," Stacey waved her hand dismissively, "but about trying to seduce our girlfriend while we're gone. We know you wouldn't do that."

Syntheia's laugh died immediately, her eyes going wide as her face flooded with color.

"I.. listen, Stacey, it's not what you th-"

"It's exactly what I think, actually," Stacey said impatiently. "You told yourself you didn't like Alea when you became friends, you fell for her and realized it after she broke her Aura, and now you're angry with yourself for falling for her. You're trying to pretend that everything's fine and that it'll go away. But now you're worried that I'm going to attack you because you have feelings for my girlfriend. How'd I do?"

Syntheia blushed deeper.

"I... yeah, you... you pretty much hit the nail on the head there. How did you..."

Stacey waved her hand dismissively.

"Because that's pretty much exactly what happened to me. Don't worry, we're not going to beat you up or tell Alea. We know that Alea would never cheat on us, plus, you seem like a relatively alright person. That's why we decided you can come out with us today."

Syntheia stumbled as Stacey tugged her along by the hand.

"What? Why did you-"

"Because the existence of 'Ignore Alea Day' is that everyone who has feelings for her and is overwhelmed by her gets the chance to get away from her and spend the day ignoring her. We thought that you deserved the chance to do that too. So come on before I change my mind and tell Alea that you want to learn yoga with her," Stacey smirked. "She's very handsy."

Syntheia flushed.

"I'll take that as a 'I really want to but that sounds like the worst torture of my life, please save me, oh wise and all knowing Stacey' and mark you down as wanting to come with."

Syntheia nodded quickly, and Stacey tugged her out of the house now, joining Terresa and Lexey out in the backyard. They had set up as small picnic, and the two were curled up together, Lexey resting her head on Terresa's shoulder and running her hand through her hair idly.

"Look who decided to admit they have a crush on Alea," Terresa said with a smug smirk.

Stacey snickered while Syntheia blushed.

Lexey smacked her arm.

"Hey! We all agreed not to speak her name today!" Lexey chided.

"Oh, please! We always end up talking about her at some point, might as well start out with it to make the poor girl less awkward!" Terresa said dismissively, waving her hand.

Stacey had already taken a seat on the blanket, her hand resting on top of Lexey's.

Syntheia was awkwardly standing on the porch and fiddling with her sleeves, trying not to look at them.

"Just take a seat, Theia," Terresa said with a wave of her hand. "We're not mad. Pretty much everyone has a crush on Al, so we really don't take it personally."

"Yeah, we already did the whole jealousy thing with each other when we all liked her, but we found we liked it **much** more when we stopped doing that," Lexey said, reaching over and planting a kiss on Stacey's lips.

Stacey flushed some, but she smiled and leaned closer to Lexey.

"So you're really not going to, like... beat the dust out of me?" Syntheia asked hesitantly.

"Course not," Terresa said with a snort. "Pretty much everyone's had a crush on Alea at some point... well, maybe not Natalie or Ivy, but Rachel definitely did."

Lexey giggled.

"Oh yeah! I remember that! She totally had the hots for her a little while ago."

"She did?" Syntheia asked, eyes wide.

"Oh, definitely," Stacey said with a small smirk. "I like to bring it up sometimes whenever she's trying to be a little jerk."

"So all the time?" Syntheia offered hesitantly.

Stacey snorted, flushing slightly at her loud laugh.

"Yeah, pretty much," Stacey replied with a slight twinkle to her eyes.

"Pisses Natalie off like nobody's business," Terresa mentioned.

"I'll have to remember that...," Syntheia said with a small smirk.

She'd settled into the conversation a bit more, feeling less awkward at having feelings for their girlfriend. They were just so... inviting. It was weird, but Syntheia was soon lounging on the blanket beside them.

Suddenly, her new friends started to laugh.

"Wait, wait, wait," Terresa said, laughing loudly. "You were _what_?"

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"I was upside down, naked, and sprawled out on a cliff. Keep up with the story, Ter, we've been over this."

"You can't just speed by the fact that you were hanging upside down naked over a cliff!" Stacey hissed.

"Well, that's not even the funny part of the story," Syntheia said, rolling her eyes.

"Then what's the funny part?!" Lexey hissed. She'd been laughing for the past two minutes straight at the story, and Syntheia found herself surprised by how cute she looked with her little giggles.

"So I finally get _back_ up on the cliff side so that I don't plummet to my death," Syntheia said, "and there, I kid you not, is a dog on top of my bag. Now, of course, I had some spare clothes in there, because I've been through this kind of situation before-"

"You've **what**?!" Lexey cried incredulously.

"I've been in this situation before. Ya know, losing my clothes during a mission. It's not that weird."

"I've **never** been naked on a mission before," Stacey said incredulously.

"A shame, really," Syntheia said with a smirk and a wink. She continued on with her story, not noticing the small blush that had started to coat Stacey's face. "Anyways, I have my spare clothes in the bag, and I go to get it, but then that _dumb dog_ decides to take a piss **right there** on top of it! So there I am, left naked and shivering at the edge of a cliff with a bag that has dog pee on it! So I was forced to walk _all the way back_ naked in the snow. It was so embarrassing."

Her friends stared at her in absolute shock, and Syntheia thought that maybe she shouldn't have said anything, but suddenly they all burst out laughing, Lexey going so far as to fall against Syntheia as she giggled.

"How did...," Lexey didn't get the chance to continue, her own laughs cutting her off.

"I know! I know! That was a crazy Tuesday," Syntheia said with a shake of the head.

Stacey gave her a long look.

"Are you secretly insane?" she asked.

Syntheia gave her a wink.

"It isn't exactly a secret, Stac."

Stacey flushed again, but Syntheia was already trying to help Lexey back to a sitting position.

Lexey didn't seem to care, falling over further and sprawling herself out further in Syntheia's lap.

"You know, you're funnier than you look," Lexey said with a small grin.

"Thank you?" Syntheia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're welcome," Lexey replied, reaching up and tapping Syntheia on the nose.

"I'm honestly still surprised she has more than one feeling," Terresa commented with a grin.

"And which feeling was that?" Syntheia questioned.

"Contempt."

Syntheia snorted.

"Glad you thought so highly of me, Ter. Right back at ya."

Suffice it to say, when the monthly anniversary of Ignore Alea Day had passed, Alea was surprised to see that her girlfriends had warmed up significantly to her newest friend.


	9. Lullaby

Weiss was the only one that was watching the kids at the moment. Looking back, it was probably a bad idea to have her and Ruby on their own watching them, considering they were both exceedingly tired after everything that had been going on with their kids for the past few months.

Weiss was on the verge of sleep, but was making sure that she stayed awake, though it was difficult. Ruby was snoring quietly, leaning back against the wall.

Weiss has been tempted to wake her up, but she'd hesitated when she saw how cute Ruby looked curled up in a little ball on the floor. Ruby had been so adamant about staying awake for their kids, but she'd accidentally fallen asleep about an hour ago.

Weiss had found herself unable to wake up her wife when she looked so peaceful.

Weiss was still technically awake, but she was in the weird middle ground where she was on the verge of dreaming. That was why, when she suddenly heard crying, she wasn't exactly sure what was happening.

Weiss took a moment to get her brain working again, like an old car trying to start up without stalling, before she hurried to her feet, almost falling over, and stepped over to Adolpha.

Adolpha's eyes were open wide, the silver orbs moving faster than Weiss had ever seen. She reached her little hands up, grabbing at nothing, before she burst out into tears again.

Weiss reaches down into the crib and grabbed Adolpha, picking her up and cradling her gently in her arms.

"Hey, hey it's alright," Weiss whispered, rocking back and forth.

Adolpha wasn't looking at her, seeming as if she was looking past Weiss and seeing something to the side.

Weiss gently moved Adolpha's face so that she was looking at her mother.

Weiss started with a hum before it started to develop into a song. She was quiet as she sang, but made sure that Adolpha could hear her. She'd heard this song when she was younger. It hadn't been sung to her, of course it hadn't, nobody had cared enough to do so when she was a child, but she'd always loved it.

She thought that maybe right now would be the perfect time to use it.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," Weiss gently ran her hand along Adolpha's face, "You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away."

When she had finished singing, Adolpha was staring up at her with a silly smile on her face. She giggled and reached one hand up toward Weiss, who let her finger be caught in her child's hand.

Weiss let her play for a few moments before she leaned forward and set Adolpha back in her crib.

She placed a gentle kiss on the wolf faunus' forehead before she pulled back.

Weiss was about to take a seat and go back to watching the kids, but she found that Ruby was staring at her with a wide grin.

"Aw, Weiss!" Ruby squealed quietly. "That was so sweet!"

Weiss flushed slightly.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Adolpha woke me up," Ruby waved her hand dismissively, "besides, this was worth seeing! You were so cute with her!"

Ruby fell over so that she was laying in Weiss' lap.

The former heiress scoffed, but she reached down and slowly ran her hand through her wife's hair.

Ruby yawned and smiled up at her tiredly.

"You're a great mom, Weiss."

Weiss blushed slightly and grinned down at her.

"I hope so," she whispered to herself once Ruby had fallen asleep. "I really hope so."


	10. Horror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter requested by Frosted_Milk

Alea didn't know how it had come to this, really. This was, for once, not her fault. A shocker, right? Typically, when there were people screaming from a stupid oversight that had to do with social interaction, it was because of Alea, but this time it was actually _Lexey_ who had messed up.

If her friends and girlfriends weren't all freaking out at the moment, Alea would have been holding it over Lexey's head, and in the back of her mind she made a mental note to do so later.

Alea presumed it had all started out as a rather underhanded, yet relatively innocent, ploy from Lexey.

-

"What? You scared?" Lexey taunted Stacey, holding up the remote as if it were a gauntlet of challenge just waiting to be thrown down.

"What?!" Stacey cried indignantly. "Scared?! Of course I'm not scared!"

"If you are, you can always hand onto me, Stac," Terresa said with a smirk and a wink.

Stacey rolled her eyes.

"Right, like _you're_ going to protect me from a movie," she said.

"So you're in?" Lexey asked, all but pouncing on the opportunity.

Stacey sighed, reaching one hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Fine. Fine! I suppose that it couldn't be _too_ bad. As long as we don't invite Ivy."

Alea gasped as if she personally had been offended.

"What's wrong with Ivy?!"

"Nothing's _wrong_ with her, babe, she's just...," Stacey trailed off, looking to her other girlfriends for help or backup.

"She's creepy enough on her own, she doesn't need a horror movie helping her out," Terresa filled in for Stacey.

"Yes! Exactly!" Stacey agreed, sending Terresa a quick smile.

"She's not creepy!" Alea cried, crossing her arms against her chest. "If this is how movie night's going, then I'm not coming."

Stacey sighed in frustration, running a hand down her face.

"Fine. Fine! She can come, but tell her not to be extra freaky."

Alea gave Stacey a smirk and a wink.

"No promises."

"So if Ivy's coming, we might as well invite Natalie and Rachel," Lexey said, a smirk on her face.

It was clear to everyone, except perhaps Alea, that she wanted this night to be romantic, perhaps she could cry out in fear and then fall against one of her girlfriends and have them protect her... Lexey held in a smirk at the idea, getting back to the matter at hand.

"Well if everyone else is coming, we should invite Syntheia," Alea said with a smirk. Despite her appearance, all three of her girlfriends knew that she was secretly beaming like a kid in a toy store at the idea of inviting their friend and including her in the group activity.

Syntheia had always been a bit standoffish when it came to something that included two or more people, usually preferring to either be alone or with a single person. But lately, she'd been coming out of her shell a bit more and showing her personality off for the world to see. Alea had made it no secret just how excited she was at this development, and she had been trying to hurry the process along by inviting Syntheia to join the other two teams in different events.

Lexey smiled at the idea, nodding.

"Yeah, sure, we can invite her."

"I bet she spends the whole time talking about how unrealistic it is," Stacey said. Alea expected her to roll her eyes in frustration, but there was a small smirk on Stacey's face, as if she was excited at the idea of having someone else there to heckle the movie with her.

Stacey was usually the only one in their relationship that made fun of whatever movie they were watching. Terresa was too busy laughing at her quips or making out with one of her girlfriends to join in, Alea thought it was mean to make fun of something that someone had spent so long working on, and Lexey, despite trying to join in on the fun with Stacey, never could come up with very good insults. Alea said it was because she was too pure, but Stacey disagreed and said that it was because she had never been taught to curse, which had made her weakwilled and soft. It was suffice to say that Stacey hadn't been allowed to sleep in the dorm for the next week after that comment, and she could be seen waking up in the library by random students who thought she might be a ghost that skulked the halls.

Alea frowned at Stacey's words.

"You think so? It's always so mean when you do that," Alea muttered.

"You like it when I'm rude," Stacey said with an eye roll, stepping past her to get some popcorn ready for the movie.

That's how, half an hour later, the eight girls were all comfortably seated in the living room, getting ready for the horror movie. Alea wasn't sure which movie exactly Lexey had picked out, but she could tell it was filled with gore, considering the cover had been a human heart that was bleeding on the floor.

Ivy was seated on the couch between Natalie and Rachel, but she wasn't touching either of them, pointedly not looking at the screen. Natalie didn't seem to know what was wrong with her girlfriend, so she wrapped her arm around her and Rachel before extending her wing to pull both closer.

"You alright, Ives?" Natalie whispered.

Ivy nodded, but her eyes were even more distant than usual.

"Then why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" Rachel prodded.

"I don't like movies," Ivy replied simply, her voice not more than a whisper as she continued to stare across the room.

Meanwhile, Lexey was very comfortably positioned between Terresa and Stacey, her arm wrapped from Terresa's and her head set on Stacey's shoulder gently. Terresa was leaning against Alea, who had an arm wrapped around her so that it could rest on Lexey's shoulder comfortingly.

Syntheia was sitting alone on a nearby couch, her legs pulled up against her chest as her eyes surveyed the room in a way that was just a bit shy of casual. She had positioned herself so that she could see all of her friends and the television as well as the nearest entrance to the room.

"Scared already?" Stacey asked Syntheia with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Syntheia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Of how badly this movie is gonna suck? Yeah, I am."

Stacey barked out a laugh, grinning back at her with a crooked smile.

"Everyone shut up, the movie's about to start," Lexey said, waving her hands and almost hitting not just Terresa, but also Stacey in the face.

"Oh, I'd _hate_ to miss any 'crucial plot points,' Lex," Stacey said, using air quotes.

Lexey shushed her and snuggled closer, settling her head against her shoulder more comfortably.

The movie had a slow build up, and most of them were bored about ten minutes in.

Ivy, however, heightened everyone's attention as soon as the first jump scare happened.

Ivy screamed at top volume, throwing herself closer to Natalie and throwing her head against her shoulder to hide herself from view.

Lexey scrambled to pause the movie, thinking that something was wrong.

"Ives, what is it?" Rachel asked worriedly, pulling closer to her girlfriend and putting her hands on her shoulder.

"He... he just came out of **nowhere**!" Ivy cried, still clutching Natalie's leather jacket like it was some sort of life line.

"Uh, yeah, that's what a jump scare is," Natalie said, shifting some so that she could see Ivy's face.

"They're horrible!" Ivy cried indignantly, eyes wide.

"Have you never seen a jump scare before? They're, like, horror movie 101," Rachel said.

Ivy turned to look at her girlfriend with a half suffering, half impatient look.

"Rachel, I can see everything coming a mile away, how in the name of **dust** do you expect me to respond to a movie when I _can't see anything coming_?!" Ivy hissed.

"Aw, Ives, hey, it's alright."

Rachel let out a cry of shock as she was shoved to the side by Alea, who had leapt over to grab Ivy.

"They're not real, don't worry," Alea soothed, running her hand through Ivy's hair gently. "Do you wanna watch something else? I don't want you to get scared."

Lexey watched the scene in annoyance, her eyes narrowed from where she'd been thrown to the floor by Alea's mad dash to get to Ivy.

Lexey huffed as Terresa pulled her back into her seat.

"This was supposed to be a romantic evening," Lexey muttered, brushing herself off.

"Now you have to put up with their bromance," Terresa said with a smirk.

Stacey reached across Lexey to smack Terresa in the arm.

"Now is not the time for you to start using those dreadful puns you've been picking up from Yang," she chided.

Terresa rolled her eyes.

"According to you, it's _never_ the time to start using those puns," she said in fake annoyance.

"That's right! And it never will be!" Stacey said with a smirk.

Terresa rolled her eyes before settling back into her seat.

"You sure you want to keep watching it?" Alea asked quietly.

Ivy nodded, pulling herself away and falling back against Natalie gently.

"Yeah, I'm alright. You go back to your girlfriends, they're getting jealous," Ivy said, giving Alea one last smile as she got ready for her next shock.

Alea grinned at her before getting settled again.

There were a few more jump scares, all of which caused Ivy to scream and clutch her girlfriends in shock. There were a few that shocked Lexey as well, but mostly she faked her fear so that Terresa would pull her closer and say something about keeping her safe. That's how Lexey ended up with her head on Terresa's chest, a smug smirk on her face as she watched the movie distractedly.

It was about ten minutes later when Syntheia walked over and plopped down on the arm of the couch beside Stacey, giving her a small grin.

"Predictable, right?" Syntheia muttered.

"You mean the jump scares, the plot, or my probability of falling asleep part way through?" Stacey whispered back with a smirk.

"I was referring to how little I care about the movie, but I suppose those were viable options too," Syntheia said, glancing at Stacey out of the corner of her eye with a small smirk.

Stacey moved to the side, closer to Lexey, and Syntheia slid into the last remaining part of the couch to sit beside her.

The two started to exchange whispers making fun of the movie.

Lexey rolled her eyes at the two and tried to ignore their mean banter, paying more attention to Terresa and Alea, but soon she realized that the team leader was a lost cause, considering she was still sending worried glances at Ivy, as if expecting her to break out into tears any minute.

About half way into the movie, a character let out a scream as they were brutally murdered by being stabbed in the back.

Natalie jumped, her eyes wide as she pulled her wings closer to herself subconsciously. Her breathing became a bit more ragged, causing both Ivy and Rachel to immediately check on their girlfriend.

The murder had clearly reminded her of how she had lost her original wings, and she was _not_ enjoying it.

"Lex, turn it off," Alea said quickly, watching the three with concern.

"N-no, it's alright... you don't have to turn it off... sorry, I just-"

"Don't apologize," Rachel said immediately, taking Natalie's hand in her own and starting to rub the back of her palm with her thumb. "It's okay to be scared sometimes."

Ivy nodded, her eyes looking intently into Natalie's own as she touched her arm. Natalie was glad to feel Ivy and Rachel's presence appear in the back of her mind, clearly because of Ivy allowing their consciences to spread to her.

Natalie let out a slow breath as the images of how she'd lost her wings slowly disappeared from her mind, leaving her instead with ones of her and her girlfriends that Ivy had passed into her head.

"Rachel's right," Ivy whispered. "It's alright to be scared, and you've always got us at your side for when you are."

Natalie blushed and stared at her girlfriends lovingly, reaching closer and planting a quick kiss on both of their lips.

"Thanks for that, guys. I'm sorry-"

"What did I _just_ say, Nat?" Rachel asked with a hint of playfulness. "Don't apologize."

Natalie laughed and let herself be pulled closer to her girlfriends as the movie continued.

Syntheia was still sitting curled up in a ball with her legs against her chest, looking as if she was somehow a mix of ease and concern.

Stacey was distracted by her friend being so withdrawn, which meant that she wasn't expecting the screaming that didn't just come from the movie, but also Ivy.

She jumped, causing her to come closer to Syntheia, who started to snicker.

"For someone making fun of the movie, you seem to be a bit scared of it," Syntheia drawled, smirking down at Stacey as she scrambled back to a sitting position. Stacey flushed and glared at her before crossing her arms against her chest.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, don't get all defensive, it's cute," Syntheia said, gently elbowing her friend with a smirk.

Stacey flushed again and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

The rest of the movie passed quickly until the villain and murderer was revealed to be the main character's father.

Syntheia's eyes widened, and she flinched when his face was revealed.

Stacey glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Look who's scared now," she teased.

Syntheia didn't take her eyes off of the screen, and Stacey's smile faltered.

"Hey, you alright?" Stacey whispered, reaching her hand out and putting it on top of Syntheia's leg.

Syntheia jumped in shock at the touch, scrambling away from Stacey's hand with wide eyes. In her fast movement, she almost fell off of the couch.

Stacey jumped back at the movement, confused.

"W-what?" Syntheia asked, taking deep, calming breaths. "O-oh, right...," she forced a laugh and an unconvincing smile, "yeah, sorry, I... guess it got to me to."

Stacey frowned in confusion, scooting closer to her friend.

"Hey, if you want to talk, I'm always here."

Syntheia gave her a forced smile.

"I know that, Stac, now watch the horrible movie."

Stacey turned her attention back to the television. But she slowly reached her hand out, letting Syntheia see it before she set it on her leg.

She didn't mention it for the rest of the movie, but Stacey noticed that she didn't pull away, and maybe seemed to pull closer.


	11. Definitely

Yang hesitantly looked down at her crying baby.

Yang looked for Blake, but the cat faunus was currently using the bathroom, which meant that Yang was on her own.

Jin was the crying baby, which mean that she was basically a ticking time bomb for how soon Adolpha was going to start crying, which meant that others would follow soon after.

Now, Yang liked to think of herself as a good mother. Dust, she'd been hardly sleeping, and what little time she spent not with the kids or sleeping she spent reading one of Blake's apparently infinite number of parenting book! She was definitely trying her best, and she was **determined** to _never_ be like her biological mother. But that wasn't the point at the moment. The point was that Yang had to calm down _Jin_ , which sounded terrible to her.

Don't get her wrong, Yang **loved** Jin, very much so, and she was even related to her, but, well... Yang and Jin had never exactly _clicked_. That was weird to say, considering Jin was still only a little over three months old, but it was true! She had connected with all the other babies, even the ones that she hadn't technically helped create (unlike Jin, one of the quadruplets that Yang _had_ helped make), but...

Jin was a tough nut to crack. She had bonded to Adolpha practically before she was born, and she seemed to not really be looking for any new parental figures. She already had Ruby, who had given birth to her and therefore written their relationship in stone, and Blake, who still calmed her down with her purring, and even Weiss, who had somehow been able to worm her way into Jin's heart.

But Yang hadn't been able to.

But, now that Blake was gone from the room for the foreseeable future, that meant...

Yang had to do _something_.

Yang reached down into the crib and grabbed Jin in both of her hands, pulling her into the air and her arms.

"Hey, hey, I've got you. You have a nightmare?" Yang whispered. Jin had been sleeping a few moments ago, and Yang had seen her jerk awake. She assumed that was what had caused it. "That's alright. Sometimes _I_ get nightmares too," Yang whispered. She noted that Jin's skin had hardened into golden scales, and she tried to soothe her so that they disappeared. "One day, when you're older, you're going to hear about how I got **this** ," she gestured her metallic arm for just a moment and Jin stopped crying for just a moment to look at it. "We all get scared sometimes, but I'm always here for you."

Jin began to cry again, and Yang wondered if she'd taken the wrong approach, so she shifted her hold of the baby into one arm and then shrugged off her jacket, revealing a small tank top underneath.

"I never understood _why_ your grandmother did this, your good grandmother from Rubes' and my side, I mean, Grandma Summer, but it always worked on Ruby when she was a baby. Might as well give it a try," Yang whispered. She gently dropped her jacket to the floor, catching it with her foot to make sure it didn't make a loud sound as it hit the floor, and focused her attention on Jin.

She pulled the second born closer to her arms, leaning down and letting her skin touch Jin's own further. Her forehead gently rested against Jin's own.

Summer used to always say the same thing to Ruby when she did this, and Yang scrambled to remember the words verbatim.

Yang started to sway back and forth gently with Jin in her arms, stepping forward and back, back and forward, creating a rhythmic pattern that seemed to almost calm Jin some, her tears lessening.

"You," Yang found her throat tightening, "are one of the greatest seven things I've ever helped to create. You're going to do great things in your life, things that right now neither of us can even imagine, and one of the greatest joys in my life is that I'm going to get to be there to watch you do it," Yang sniffled and held back her tears, "and I know that right now you might be sad or scared, but I'm _always_ going to be there for you, until the end of time and _then_ some."

Jin, although she couldn't understand Yang, seemed comforted by the gentle sound of her voice, and she stopped crying.

Yang pulled Jin even closer, setting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," she whispered.

Jin's skin revealed itself just as Yang's lips touched her forehead, the scales fading away as she looked up at Yang gently.

The door slowly pushed open, and Blake stepped inside to stare at the pair, a fond smile on her face.

Jin was giggling as she looked up at Yang.

"And you said she didn't like you," Blake whispered, reaching forward and wrapping her arms around Yang's waist, her head coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Guess I was wrong," Yang whispered with a small smile on her face.

Blake leaned forward and gave Yang a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Definitely."


	12. One Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not a mistake that I posted these three chapters back to back. They are meant to be read without a break in between, and I suggest you do. The second chapter of these three "Can Change" has trigger warnings and direct references to child abuse, and I suggest that you read with discretion. Please enjoy these chapters, however, and know that Syntheia is a complex character, and these are meant to showcase her in full. Hopefully this sounds very realistic because part of her character here is based on my own experiences. I have never been abused, but I have some of these same problems because of something that I can't get into. Please be careful!
> 
> Love you guys!!!

Adolpha swung her fist and deflected an attack from Syntheia, spinning in a tight circle before kicking out at her leg.

Syntheia leapt, but Adolpha was already there, planting the leg she had kicked and then swinging her other, which connected with Syntheia's chest. The first kick had, evidently, been a trap. The girl was getting annoyingly good at that, but Syntheia supposed she had herself to blame for that, considering she'd helped teach her that. Or perhaps it was natural talent. Syntheia guessed she'd never know for sure.

The kick to the chest had sent Syntheia careening backward, and she hit the ground with a **thump**.

Syntheia let out a groan as she pushed herself to her feet, dusting herself off and running a hand through her hair.

"You're getting better, Dolph. Not _great_ , but better," Syntheia said, giving her a wink as she straightened her jacket.

Adolpha let out a laugh, jogging over to join her.

"Really? That's it? I knock you on your butt, and all you say is that I'm getting 'better?' Please! I could totally beat you in a real fight."

Syntheia snickered.

"You're barely thirteen, Dolph. You might be good, but you're not _that_ good."

"I don't know," Adolpha gave her a playful grin, "I'm pretty awesome."

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"Is that what you tell all the ladies? Or just one in particular?"

Adolpha blushed and shoved her with her shoulder.

"It's better than whatever pickup lines you've been using, that's for sure! You're, like, perpetually single."

Syntheia hesitated before she looked away.

"Uh, hehe, yeah, I guess you're right..."

Adolpha stopped smiling, sensing that something was wrong.

"Aunty S, why _are_ you perpetually single?" she asked, titling her head to the side in confusion.

Syntheia snorted.

"Despite what all of your parents, aunts, and uncles have led you to believe, not everyone gets married as soon as it is legally allowed. Some people just... wait a little longer. And some people... well, they just never get married."

Adolpha was taken aback. After all, her life had always been filled with people that were in happy relationships that had lasted them lifetimes. Everyone except Syntheia.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, there's all kinds of reasons why people might not get married, kid," Syntheia said, still not looking at her. "Maybe they never meet the right person or people, maybe they never wanted to, maybe they get caught up in their careers.... maybe some people just screw up the only chance they ever got."

Adolpha jogged to catch up to Syntheia, who had started to walk back toward the house, her head down.

"Then why didn't _you_ get married, Aunty S?" she asked.

Syntheia hesitated, her foot pausing just before it hit the ground. Her eyes darted up, landing on team ATLS as they lounged in the living room. They must have been telling the other kids stories, considering Jin and Aella were laughing up a storm while the others watched them intently.

"I guess you could say it was the last one for me," Syntheia finally said.

"How did you screw up?" Adolpha asked, always filled with so many questions, so many of them rude.

Syntheia sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I guess I just never... I just never opened up, kid. When you're in a relationship, you have to lay yourself bare, show the person or people _everything_ you are, and I... I just never could."

Syntheia started to walk toward the door, but Adolpha's hand shot forward with certainty, grabbing her arm.

"Why not?" she pushed, concern showing in her eyes as she stepped toward Syntheia.

The older girl hesitated.

"Well, I...," Syntheia looked away from Adolpha. "I don't want to talk about it."

Syntheia pulled her arm from Adolpha's grasp and stepped inside without another word.

-

Ivy sat up in bed, drenched in sweat as she breathed heavily. The memory was already trying to slip from her grasp, but Ivy held to it for dear life as they threw herself out of bed. Alea made a sound of discomfort and confusion, but continued to sleep.

Ivy scrambled to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and pen, beginning to write a note to herself. She had to do it before she forgot everything that she had seen. Normally, she didn't do anything when she had visions of the future, she just laid back and let them play out. But there had been one other time when she had changed the course of _everything_ because of her dream.

It had been a normal day, perhaps like any other, except for the fact that it was her first day at Beacon. As she was launched into the air, she had seen the briefest image of Natalie falling beside her. She hadn't remembered at the time when she had seen this girl before, but it tickled something in the back of her mind, and she had went searching to find her and partner with her.

Later, Ivy had remembered a dream, just in parts, where she had ended up on a different team and had been forced to watch from afar as Natalie and Rachel partnered up and fell in love, leaving her alone.

She had changed the course of the future, and Ivy would be sure to do so again.

Nothing was written in stone.


	13. Can Change

Syntheia tossed and turned in her sleep. As always, she sat curled up on the chair, not willing to touch any of the beds that held her friends. She was alone, like always, in the other room outside of the bedroom that the others used. She couldn't handle the crowd. Groups of more than two had upset her for as long as she could remember, but somehow she was starting to enjoy almost being part of a team.

 _You're weak_.

Syntheia squirmed in her sleep, pulling her knees to her chest and starting to breathe more and more frantic.

 _You're pathetic_.

Syntheia's eyes squeezed further shut.

_It's no wonder they don't want you, no wonder they don't **love** you. How could **anyone**?!_

Syntheia shot awake, her hands reflexively raising up to defend herself from blows that didn't come, never _would_ come, because they already had.

Syntheia shook her head, forcing herself to calm down as her eyes shot around the room, looking for any intruders. She had positioned herself in the corner so that she could easily see any entrances and, therefore, anyone that could possibly be trying to come in through them. It was habit at this point.

-

Ivy could hear Syntheia's heart pounding from the other room, could feel the panic that she was trying to hide.

Her mind flashed to the dream from last night, giving her an idea.

Ivy sat up and looked around the room, finding that everyone else was asleep.

That wasn't right.

If everyone was asleep, that meant that Syntheia was alone, which meant that she would go through this alone, and she would never tell anyone. It was like a stack of dominoes that were all tumbling forward, the pieces gaining more and more momentum until they caused the vision that Ivy had seen.

Ivy leaned over to the person beside her, shaking Alea awake.

The team leader shot up in bed.

"Don't tell the penguins!" she cried, her tired hand reaching for her broad sword, which was set on her bedside table.

Ivy rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for Alea's adorableness.

"Hey, get up."

Alea turned and blinked at Ivy tiredly.

"What?"

"Get up, get your team, and walk outside of this room."

"Why?"

Ivy looked at her intently.

"Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Alea took a moment to think, her tired mind working slowly, before she nodded, yawning.

"Right, sorry."

Alea pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the other beds, shaking her teammates awake before pulling them outside.

-

The door to the bedroom slowly swung open, and Syntheia's breath hitched, her hand reaching for her nunchucks until she caught sight of a familiar face.

Alea stuck her head outside, frowning in confusion.

"Syn? What's wrong?" she whispered, pulling a yawning Stacey out of the bedroom behind her. "What are you doing up so late?"

Syntheia tried to calm her racing heart, attempting to rid her mind of the visions she had seen in her dream.

"I could ask you the same thing, Ally," she replied, forcing a smile.

Evidently, it was not convincing enough, considering Lexey put her hands on her hips, like she always did when she went into her mom friend zone, and gave Syntheia a level look.

"What's going on, Theia?" Lexey asked, her voice just short of demanding.

Syntheia curled up smaller on the couch, looking away from the four.

"Just a nightmare, Lex. We all get them. Go back to bed."

Stacey rolled her eyes in frustration, walking over and pulling Alea by their connected hands.

"Nope, a regular nightmare doesn't leave you like that. Now stay still," Stacey demanded.

Syntheia flinched as Stacey sat down on the couch beside her, reaching her arms out.

Syntheia squeezed her eyes shut, her mind yelling at her to run, screaming that she had to escape.

_Coward. That's all you do, isn't it? You just run and run, blame your own damn problems on other people. When are you going to own up to the fact that **you're** the problem?!_

Syntheia flinched, surprised as she felt arms wrap around her.

Stacey pulled Syntheia close, setting the other girl's head on her chest.

Syntheia's eyes opened, and she stared up at Stacey with a look of shock in her eyes.

Lexey sat down on the couch behind Syntheia, leaning closer and setting her head on her back gently.

Terresa took a seat on the ground in front of her, leaning back so that her head landed on her legs.

Alea took a moment to consider before she shrugged and leapt over the back of the couch, wrapping her arms around Lexey, Stacey, and Syntheia.

Syntheia could still hear the voice in her head, _his_ voice.

_Why should **they** care? **I** didn't even care._

Syntheia took a deep, shaking breath. She went to pull away, but hesitated as Lexey's hand started to run through her hair gently.

"What happened?" she whispered.

Syntheia hesitated.

She wanted more than anything to give into the four girls that held her. Since she was a child, she had loved to be touched, loved to cuddle and fall asleep in someone's arms. But...

_Every touch is a veiled attempt to take something from you. There's always an ulterior motive. What do they want from **you**? You have **nothing**. You **are** nothing!_

Syntheia began to cry.

She wanted to be held, wanted to be the child that she had once been that loved to be touched, but she shook whenever someone touched her, jumped at the slightest sound. She could never be the same, not again. She was... something inside her was broken. She couldn't do this, not again.

Syntheia pulled away further, this time with greater determination.

Stacey held her around the waist loosely. She didn't pull Syntheia back, didn't stop her from getting up, but the feather light touch made her walls start to crumble, and once again she hesitated.

She wanted to collapse into their arms, their embrace, but the idea was still making her sick to her stomach. She couldn't.

He had _taken_ that from her, taken a part of her that she had loved so very much, and he had tainted it. She wasn't the child she used to be. She couldn't let people touch her, not like she used to, and out of everything he had done to her, it was what she loathed him the most for.

_Don't fall for it. It's a trap. Nobody could really care for **you**._

Syntheia could hear the voice in her head, and she knew it was right...

Wasn't it?

That voice, although it belonged to the man that Syntheia hated the most, the man that had hurt her the most, had never steered her wrong. It had never let her become attached, never let her get hurt...

But was that truly living?

Was life truly _life_ if she didn't let it in?

Ever since he'd first hit her, she had lived life shallow, lived it in the shadows, afraid to let anyone in.

And she'd been safe, hadn't she? Nobody had been able to hurt her. She had trained her semblance, had trained her fighting, and she had been able to escape when she was just ten years old. When she'd left, she'd never been hurt again. Nobody could hurt her because nobody could touch her.

But in the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind, she... she missed it. She missed being able to be touched without flinching back, missed being able to just relax in someone's arms...

But she couldn't, could she? She never deserved to have someone that would help her like that, did she?

_Of course you don't! You've been nothing but a disgrace and a disappointment from the moment you were born! You-_

For the first time in her life, Syntheia silenced the voice, and she fell back into the arms that held her. For once, those arms didn't feel like they were trying to suffocate her, to drown her as they pulled her down.

They felt...

Well, they _almost_ felt safe.

She still had an air of disbelief and caution, but she forced it to the back of her mind.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Alea whispered.

Syntheia almost shook her head, like she always did, but this time she hesitated.

Was she? Was she finally ready to try to silence the voice in the back of her head that she had spent her entire life trying to ignore, but ultimately listening to blindly?

"I... I think so."

It was a start. Nothing was fixed, nothing was magically made perfect because of this moment, but...

But it was a start.

And Syntheia let herself finally speak.


	14. Everything

Adolpha swung her fist and deflected an attack from Syntheia, spinning in a tight circle before kicking out at her leg.

Syntheia leapt, but Adolpha was already there, planting the leg she had kicked and then swinging her other, which connected with Syntheia's chest. The first kick had, evidently, been a trap. The girl was getting annoyingly good at that, but Syntheia supposed she had herself to blame for that, considering she'd helped teach her that. Or perhaps it was natural talent. Syntheia guessed she'd never know for sure.

The kick to the chest had sent Syntheia careening backward, and she hit the ground with a **thump**.

Syntheia let out a groan as she pushed herself to her feet, dusting herself off and running a hand through her hair.

"You're getting better, Dolph. Not _great_ , but better," Syntheia said, giving her a wink as she straightened her jacket.

Adolpha let out a laugh, jogging over to join her.

"Really? That's it? I knock you on your butt, and all you say is that I'm getting 'better?' Please! I could totally beat you in a real fight."

Syntheia snickered.

"You're barely thirteen, Dolph. You might be good, but you're not _that_ good."

"I don't know," Adolpha gave her a playful grin, "I'm pretty awesome."

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"Is that what you tell all the ladies? Or just one in particular?"

Adolpha blushed and shoved her with her shoulder.

"Hey, knock it off!"

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"As much as I'd love to stay and make fun of you some more, I've got more important things to do."

Adolpha raised an eyebrow.

"And what's that."

"It's my anniversary, kid! Didn't you see it on one of Akio's calendars? They're posted all around your house, Dolph, you should start paying more attention."

Adolpha rolled her eyes.

"You know more than anyone just how much attention I pay to everything around me. But you have to go _now_? Just one more round? Please?"

Syntheia laughed, shaking her head.

"Seriously, Dolph, I gotta go. See you later though!"

Syntheia stepped inside with a wide smile on her face, and Adolpha sighed before following after her.

-

Ivy woke up, the familiar dream fdaing away quickly, but that was alright. She knew that she'd already done what she needed to.

She fell asleep easily that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the three chapters are over! I hope everyone enjoyed, that I portrayed this stuff accurately, and that nobody cried!


	15. The Blankey

Ruby was the only one watching the children, Yang had taken a few minutes to go make coffee for herself so that she could stay awake for the double shift that she had later tonight so that they could switch partners.

Ruby looked down at the children, smiling to herself and leaning back against the wall. She played with a piece of cloth in her hands idly, running her thumb up and down it.

It was a stupid idea, really. She'd hidden the cloth from Yang, not wanting to get made fun of by her sister.

But she thought that maybe, just maybe...

Her thoughts were interrupted as Aella started crying. Ruby hurried over to her side, ignoring the cloth in her hands and instead leaning down so that she could look at the youngest quadruplet, worried.

"Hey, Aella, it's alright, it's alright, I'm right here," Ruby whispered, leaning to pick up the tiny baby and holding her gently. She assumed that the baby wanted attention, which was the main reason why she started crying in lots of situations.

Aella didn't look at Ruby, becoming almost instantly distracted by the cloth that Ruby had thrown over her shoulder. Aella had always seemed to be fascinated by Ruby's own cloak, since she was born actually, and so Ruby guessed it made sense that she was intrigued by the cloth that was on Ruby's shoulder.

It was a cloak too, Ruby had bought it recently, though it was a different color than Ruby's own. It was a slightly darker color, closer to maroon than crimson, but it was still a nice shade of red, if you asked Ruby.

Aella giggled as Ruby turned a bit, causing the cloak to shimmer slightly.

Ruby's eyes widened, and she broke into a grin.

"You like it, huh?" Ruby asked quietly, moving the cloak some so that Aella could get her grubby little hand on it. It was adorable. "You know, my mom gave me mine when I was about your age. This is it here. You know, it's one of the few things she passed down to me, that and eyes," she gestured at her silver eyes, "but I only got to pass that down to Crystal and Lavey. But I can give you this. You want it?"

Aella giggled as she looked at the cloak, causing Ruby to beam.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ruby whispered, leaning down and putting Aella back in her crib.

The baby started to cry a bit, but Ruby reached down and wrapped Aella in the cloak like it was a blanket.

Aella giggled again and smiled up at Ruby, who grinned down at her.

"Glad you like it," she whispered, leaning down and placing a kiss on the baby's forehead before she pulled away.

She looked up and found that Yang was standing in the doorway watching her with a small, fond smile on her face.

"That was sweet, Rubes," Yang whispered.

Ruby gave her a small smile before she glanced down at Aella.

"Thanks. I just hope she'll like it when she's older."

"I'm sure she will."


	16. Realizations (4.0)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A call back to part one in the title? In my fic? More likely than you'd think.

Alea was _ecstatic_! She had **finally** gotten her girlfriends and Syntheia to be on the same page about something, and they even seemed to enjoy having their new friend around! Not to mention the fact that Syntheia had finally opened up to them some, which was **great**!

It was because of this that Alea felt comfortable leaping over the back of the couch and landing beside Syntheia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Syntheia jumped in shock, looking over at Alea with wide eyes.

"Hey," Alea said with a small smirk and a wink. She didn't notice that Syntheia's face reddened just slightly. "What are you four up to?" she asked.

Syntheia had been sitting on the couch beside Stacey, their hands having been gently touching, with Terresa and Lexey both sitting on the ground by her legs and leaning back against the couch. Lexey's head had been slightly touching Syntheia's leg.

"Just talking," Lexey said with a small smile, setting her hand on Alea's foot as she leaned backward.

"About you," Syntheia said playfully, nudging Alea and willing the blush to leave her face.

"Really?" Alea asked. Syntheia thought it was dreadfully adorable how innocent she sounded.

"Yeah, about how _annoying_ you are," Syntheia continued before she could dig herself a bigger hole.

Alea gasped.

"I expect that sort of thing from Syntheia, but from you three?! You're my girlfriends! You're supposed to love me and not call me annoying!" Alea cried in fake indignation.

Syntheia ignored the pang it sent through her heart.

"No, it's the other way around," Stacey said dismissively. "Only girlfriends are allowed to insult you, everyone else has to get in line."

"How far back am I in line?" Syntheia asked playfully.

Stacey hesitated.

"Maybe there can be a few... exceptions."

Syntheia stared back at her for a long moment, the two not saying anything.

Alea didn't know what was going on, but she just smiled and let herself relax on the couch, not paying attention when Syntheia and Stacey's eyes finally separated, both blushing.

"Wait," Lexey said, a small grin on her face as she looked at the other girls in the room. "If Syntheia's staying with us for the summer, that means she's joining a team, and I will _die_ before I let team ORIN get you before us. So what's our new team name?"

Syntheia's eyes widened in shock while Alea **beamed**.

"That's amazing! We can be team ATLSS! It doesn't even change the name!" Alea said.

Syntheia crossed her arms.

"So it doesn't matter if I'm there or not? It's the same?" Syntheia asked, half playful, half serious. She was dying to know if her presence even mattered to the four, if she meant _anything_ to them when they meant... so much to her.

"No," Alea frowned, and the four could tell that she had a slight bit of herself without her semblance showing up, "that means... you fit in so well, that you just meld into the group! Just like every word, it's not complete without every letter, even if they sometimes have silent letters or double ones! Of course your presence is important, Syn."

Syntheia flushed deeply and turned her head away from Alea so that she couldn't see the red color of her face.

"Didn't know you had such a way with words, Ally."

"I do when it's about something important enough," Alea replied.

Syntheia looked away and met Lexey's gaze, finding that the other girl was beaming back at her.

"So what do you say?" Lexey questioned.

Syntheia forced herself not to get lost in Lexey's intoxicating brown eyes.

"About?" she asked, frowning.

"Joining us," Lexey expanded with a small smirk.

Syntheia flushed again, but she tried not to.

"Uh, yeah... yeah, team ATLSS sounds pretty great."

Syntheia wished that Lexey and Terresa weren't both leaning back against her legs, because she found it impossible to pick them up and draw them closer to her chest protectively with them so close. But at the same time, she enjoyed having them close, enjoyed letting _someone_ that was able to touch her without sending her into a panic attack or flinching back away from them. Especially when it was those four...

Syntheia shoved those thoughts from her mind forcibly.

"Then it's official! Team ATLSS is a go!" Lexey said excitedly.

"Good to have ya," Terresa said with a small grin, playfully punching Syntheia's leg.

"It is, but that's some downgrade, Theia," Stacey said with a smirk.

Syntheia raised an eyebrow playfully.

"How so?" she asked.

"Well, you went from team leader to team member," she said, shrugging with a grin. "Isn't that a downgrade?"

"Eh, I don't want to have to deal with telling you three what to do anything. You're a mess," Syntheia said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Stacey rolled her eyes.

"Sure, sure," she said, shaking her head.

Syntheia fell to the side, leaning against Alea with a quiet laugh.

The team leader hesitated before allowing herself to smile. Meanwhile, Syntheia was able to silence the voice that told her that she didn't deserve happiness, that they didn't truly care for her.

Meanwhile, Alea shot a glance at her girlfriends, giving them an awkward smile that she knew turned into a smirk despite herself.

Stacey raised an eyebrow, glancing at her other girlfriends for a moment before looking away.

Syntheia didn't seem to notice.

-

Syntheia sat alone in the bedroom, on one of the beds. That's right, she was on one of the beds. She was getting better. Or, well, at least she was getting better about not having to sleep on the couch, but everything else seemed to be getting worse. Not only did she seem to have a crush on Alea, the literal embodiment of sunshine and rainbows and laughing puppies (yes, laughing. Syntheia didn't know how, considering puppies didn't laugh, but she was the embodiment of laughing puppies), but also...

All three of her girlfriends.

Yes, she said it, or, well, more accurately thought it to herself because she wasn't willing to say it aloud, both because she was too proud and because feelings were still the most embarrassing thing in the world.

But she wasn't just into Alea, that was the point of all this.

Stacey was, surprisingly, one of the funniest people that she's ever met. When she'd first seen her, Syntheia had first assumed that she was a rude, withdrawn woman that didn't exactly have a personality, but now... she was snarky and rude and just sarcastic enough to fit in with Syntheia's own darker humor.

Terresa could be funny too, in a slightly different way from Stacey, but it was also pretty similar. Terresa was strong in a way that Syntheia hadn't seen in almost any other people. Despite being extremely externally strong, that wasn't what she was referring to. Terresa was stubborn and protective, harsh yet a calming presence to her friends and girlfriends.

And Lexey... Lexey was just Lexey. If Syntheia hadn't met Alea, she would have said that Lexey was, quite possible, in possession of the loudest personality she knew. Lexey was a shy person when you first met her, but once you got to know her... she was loud and slightly obnoxious, yes, Syntheia was capable of insulting the women she had crushes on. But Lexey was also a genuinely loving and kind hearted person that Syntheia felt lucky to have the chance to know... but also felt extremely _unlucky_ , considering she had fallen for her with no hope of any happy ending there.

But, on the brighter side of things...

She was going to try sleeping in a bed tonight!

-

Turns out there was no bright side.

The bright side did not exist. It was not a thing. Not something that Syntheia could count on.

Because now she was trying to sleep in a bed, but the rest of team ATLSS decided to support her. Not from a distance. No, they were being supportive from literally right beside her.

Alea was happily snoozing at the bottom of the doggy pile, Syntheia laying on top of her chest (against her will, mind you. Alea had grabbed Syntheia around the waist, causing her to blush deeply, and then thrown herself backward onto the bed with Syntheia still held in her grasp).

Terresa was on the right hand side beside Syntheia, arm lightly wrapped around her waist as she snored. Stacey had fallen asleep on the left side, curled up in the corner, but had moved as she slept so that she was right beside Alea and Syntheia, her head resting on Alea's shoulder and putting her face centimeters away from Syntheia's own. And finally there was Lexey. She hadn't been able to find a place that allowed her to lay beside Syntheia, which had been a relief at first, but then...

Lexey had just shrugged and then dropped down onto Syntheia's stomach and then snuggled closer to her, putting her head under Syntheia's chin.

Suffice it to say, Syntheia knew that she wasn't going to be getting any sleep that night. Definitely not.

But at least the rest of their newly formed team was slumbering, which meant that Syntheia wouldn't be subject to any of them asking why she was still awake.

As if her thoughts had summoned her, Lexey shifted a bit, moving her head so that she was looking up at Syntheia with a small smile.

"Hey, Theia," she whispered.

Syntheia blushed, hoping the other girl couldn't tell in the dark lighting.

"Uh... hey," Syntheia whispered back.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah, a bit," Syntheia said.

"Well," Lexey wiggled a bit so that she was closer to Syntheia's face, smiling a ther as her eyes gently fluttered shut, "we're always right here for you if you need something. Don't be afraid to ask."

Lexey brought her hand up to rest it on Stacey's shoulder, causing her arm to wrap further around Syntheia.

The newest member of team ATLSS let out a quiet sigh, squeezing her eyes shut.

She definitely wasn't going to get much sleep that night.

-

Alea had a problem. She definitely did.

Actually, she had _two_ problems. One of them was... well, she had a problem! The second was that whenever he had a problem, she brought it up with her girlfriends because she loved them very much and wanted to let them know about her issues. And also because Alea was pretty sure that all of them were at least five times smarter than her and they always seemed to know how to fix her problems.

But she couldn't tell them about this problem, right? Right?!

Alea deliberated for the entirety of two minutes before she sighed, pushing herself to her feet and walking to the bedroom as if she were marching to her death.

She pushed open the door, bringing herself face to face with the three women she was in love with, the three women that she had _betrayed_.

"Hey, Al," Stacey said, waving at her idly.

Lexey and Terresa both grinned at her, about to greet her, but Alea didn't give them the chance.

"Guys, there's... there's something I need to tell you."

They all looked up at her. Lexey looked slightly concerned for her, Terresa looked intrigued, and Stacey was bored, watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"I... I love all three of you so much, and I need you all to listen while I tell you this. There's... something that's been weighing heavy on my heart for," Alea glanced at her pink watch, "the past three minutes. I... I think I might have feelings for-"


	17. A Great Afternoon

"I... I love all three of you so much, and I need you all to listen while I tell you this. There's... something that's been weighing heavy on my heart for," Alea glanced at her pink watch, "the past three minutes. I... I think I might have feelings for-"

"Syntheia, yeah, we know," Stacey said. She didn't look up from her book as she laid against Terresa's stomach.

Terresa nodded, and Lexey, who was leaned against Stacey's side as she played a game on her scroll, went "yup!" and didn't let herself be distracted.

Alea stared at the three in disbelief, eyes wide as she watched her girlfriends act as if Alea having feelings for someone else was no big deal.

Tears welled in Alea's eyes.

"L-listen... I know that I'm a flirtatious person, b-but I'm _very_ loyal, and I try my best to be a good girlfriend for you three. I'm so, **so** sorry that I-"

Stacey and Lexey finally let Alea have their full focus.

"Al, stop crying," Stacey said, her tone slightly sharp, but Alea knew it was truly from concern. "We're not upset with you, and we've been seeing this coming for a while now. It just took you long enough to say it."

Alea sniffled.

"I-I don't just fall for anyone, you know. I choose the people I-"

Lexey sat up and opened her arms for Alea, who let herself be pulled into a hug.

"Babe, babe, calm down, we know that you're loyal, we know that you love us, we know all of this. We love you too! But the point is that we're not mad, and we can all sit down and have a reasonable conversation about this."

Terresa and Stacey nodded their agreement.

"How are you okay with me having feelings for someone else?!" Alea hissed.

"Because it was kind of clear from the day you met her that there was something there?" Stacey offered.

Lexey elbowed her in the ribs, causing her to hiss and rub at it with her hand.

"Hey, careful there, Lex," she muttered.

Lexey ignored her.

"I hate to say it," Terresa was saying, "but Stacey's kind of got a point. You had this look in your eyes, and looking back I should have seen it from the start," Stacey nodded, causing Lexey to elbow her again, "and of course we're not mad, hon."

"Yeah, I mean, it would be a little ironic if we were mad at you for having feeling for multiple people, considering you're dating all three of us, and so are we," Lexey said, shrugging.

" **And** , more importantly," Stacey pointed out, rolling her eyes at the others, "we've been flirting with Syntheia for, like, the past three weeks just waiting for you to figure out you had feelings for her."

"We were planning on telling you that you liked her tomorrow, actually," Stacey said, shrugging as if having to tell their girlfriend that she was in love with someone other than them was a common day occurence.

"Wait, you've been flirting with her?!" Alea hissed.

"Duh," Lexey said with a playful eye roll, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Alea's own.

"I mean, we don't just invite anyone to join our team," Terresa pointed out.

"And we totally made her squirm last night when she shared a bed with us," Stacey said with a small smirk.

"Aw, she's _so cute_ when she blushes," Lexey said with a coo in her voice, grinning to herself.

Terresa snorted.

"She thinks she's so sly, doesn't she? Dear Dust, we realized she had a crush on Alea _the moment_ it happened," Terresa said, shaking her head fondly.

"You mean when she saw Alea grin at her like a little golden retriever?" Lexey asked.

"Yes, the moment she saw Alea without her semblance, she _truly_ got a crush on her," Stacey agreed.

Alea's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and excitement.

"She has a crush on me?!"

"Oh, totally," Lexey said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "She has a crush on all four of us."

"She **what**?!" Alea cried, clearly lost. Her girlfriends didn't seem to care that she was confused, instead focusing on their own conversation.

"So do you think we should tell her today or milk out another day of watching her blush?" Terresa asked with a small smirk.

Stacey's eyes glinted with excitement and she opened her mouth to respond, but Lexey casually reached forward and put a hand over her mouth to stop her from speaking.

"We are _not_ going to torture her anymore, besides, that would be torture for us too, especially Alea, you know how she gets when she realizes she likes someone, you were there the last time. Also, you **know** that she's going to blush when we bring it up anyways, so we might as well tell her now," Lexey said.

"She makes a fair point," Terresa said, glancing at Stacey to get her opinion. Stacey gave her a small nod, Lexey's hand still stopping any attempt she could possibly have at speaking.

"Great!" Terresa cried, pushing herself to her feet. "Why don't we go tell her now?"

Lexey threw herself to her feet, dragging a suffering Stacey behind her, and hurried to the door with Terresa at her side.

Alea side stepped so that she was blocking their only escape, eyes wide. She subconsciously flared her semblance in her confusion.

"What's going on?! Tell her what?!" Alea asked, but it sounded almost like a demand with her semblance flared so high.

"Hon, your semblance," Terresa said, averting her eyes so that she was staring at the floor. Her voice was meeker than she had meant it to be.

Alea frowned in confusion for a moment before she realized that all three of her girlfriends were currently having trouble looking her in the eyes, clearly affected by her flared semblance.

"Right! Right, sorry," Alea blushed slightly and offered them an apologetic smile that turned into a playful smirk. Her girlfriends could tell her intent anyways. "Still working on not doing that on accident...," Alea hesitated before she remembered her point. "Right! What's going on? What are we telling who?"

"We're leaving the room," Stacey said with gentle patience that she hardly ever portrayed, "so that we can find Syntheia, and tell her that we all have feelings for her too and we'd like her to join us in our relationship. It's not that complicated."

"We're going to _what_?!" Alea cried.

"Al, I love you, but you gotta speed this up, I wanna kiss that lady, so Ter, do you mind?"

"Not at all, babe," Terresa shot her a wink before she moved forward and casually grabbed Alea on the hips, lifting her into the air and unceremoniously tossing her over her shoulder like a rugsack.

"Alright! Let's go!" Terresa said.

Alea let out a sound of shock as she was lifted into the air, the sound turning into a scream as Terresa took off at a run, chasing after Lexey.

"Lex, there's no way you get to kiss her first. That's **not** happening," Terresa called.

"First come first served!" Lexey cried back.

Alea finally seemed to have understood what was happening, and she squirmed a bit in Terresa's grasp.

"Maybe the first person she had a crush on should get the chance to go first...," Alea said hesitantly, blushing slightly. She was still slightly worried that her girlfriends were going to change their opinions and start yelling at her for having feelings for someone else.

"That's not fair! Everyone has feelings for you!" Lexey whined.

"Besides, you didn't even know you were pining over her until like seven minutes ago, that's totally not fair," Terresa agreed, shaking her head and then rolling her eyes.

"But I'm the one that she _met_ first!" Alea argued, calming some.

Just then, a door flew open in front of them to reveal the living room.

Stacey appeared, having used her semblance to disappear from view, and gave her girlfriends a smirk.

"So are we still going with plan K?" Stacey asked.

"I'm the one that came up with that plan! I should be the one that gets to do it!" Lexey all but whined.

"Tough luck," Stacey said, racing into the living room and skidding to a stop when she reached Syntheia on the couch.

Syntheia jumped in surprise, eyes going wide and darting between the four girls that had just burst in.

"Hey, guys, what are-"

Stacey put on her best smirk, leaning forward against the chair arm so that she was invading Syntheia's personal space.

"Hey, Theia, can I borrow you for a second?" Stacey said, raising one eyebrow as she leaned even closer.

Syntheia pushed herself back from Stacey a bit, face turning red (Alea had to admit that Terresa had been right, it was adorable to watch the typically unflappable girl blush so much).

Syntheia looked away from Stacey, nodding.

"Uh, yeah, w-what do you nee-"

Before she could finish speaking, Stacey leaned forward even further, grabbing Syntheia's face in her hands and pulling her closer, connecting their lips.

Syntheia let out a squeak of shock, eyes going wide and darting to Stacey's girlfriends, but she was understandably distracted as Stacey crawled onto the couch and deepened the kiss.

Syntheia grunted in surprise, falling back against the couch as Stacey held her face in a tight grasp.

Finally, Syntheia's eyes fluttered shut, her hands reaching up and setting themselves on Stacey's waist to steady her.

After a long moment, Lexey cleared her throat.

Syntheia's eyes flashed open, face turning a dark shade of red, and she pulled back. Stacey let out a groan of frustration and glanced over her shoulder, glaring at Lexey.

"You mind, Lex? We were having a moment."

"Yeah, a moment that we're _all_ a part of," Lexey pointed out, grinning back at Stacey.

Syntheia suddenly seemed to realize what was happening, letting out a quiet sound of shock before her instincts took over. She shoved Stacey, causing the other girl to cry out as she was thrown onto the floor.

Stacey cursed, rubbing at her head.

"What was that for?!" she cried.

"Y-you kissed me!" Syntheia replied loudly. "In _front of your girlfriends_! You kissed me in front of your girlfriends! That's... that's all sorts of wrong, Stac!"

Syntheia reached one hand up toward her mouth, barely stopping herself from running her thumb against her lips.

She quickly turned her attention back to the other girls, still blushing.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't really understand what was going on-"

Lexey rolled her eyes and glanced at Terresa, who shrugged, crossing her arms in slight annoyance. Lexey grinned before she stepped forward, grabbing Syntheia by the collar of her jacket and pulling her close, kissing her before Syntheia could do anything to stop her.

Syntheia fell over backward in shock, her back hitting the couch as Lexey reached one hand up, starting to run it through her hair lovingly.

Syntheia's eyes fell shut again, and she reached her hands up to grab Lexey behind her shoulders, starting to pull her closer and-

Syntheia's eyes flashed open, and she shoved Lexey off of her hurried, almost falling off of the couch herself in the process of doing so.

"Oh! You're doing what you did to me! We're doing what you did to me the first time we kissed! I'm a part of distracting people from conversation!" Alea said excitedly, causing all three of her girlfriends to roll their eyes with a mixture of suffering and fondness.

Alea was about to step forward, but Terresa scoffed, shoving her back playfully.

"You got to kiss all three of us first, you're not kissing her before me too."

"What's going o-"

Syntheia didn't get to finish because Terresa grabbed her around the waist, lifting her into the air and pulling her in for a deep kiss. Syntheia melted into her arms for a moment, putting her hands on Terresa's face before she started to pull her closer-

Syntheia's eyes flashed open and she wiggled in Terresa's grasp, bringing her feet up and kicking at her.

Terresa cursed as she stumbled to the ground, Syntheia falling backward and landing on the floor in a heap with Stacey and Lexey (the two rolling to the side to avoid her landing on them).

"Careful, Al, she's a kicker," Terresa called as Alea took a step toward Syntheia, who was still looking at the four with wide, almost horrified eyes.

"That's because you all did it wrong," Alea said dismissively, smirking broadly as she took a seat beside Syntheia on the couch.

"Ally, I'm really sorry, I don't know what's going o-"

Alea reached her hand up, putting one finger on Syntheia's mouth to silence her gently.

"Syn, calm down and look at me," Alea said softly. She had reached forward and put her hand on Syntheia's chin, tilting her head so that she was forced to face her direction. After a minute, Syntheia was able to do so, staring into her blue eyes and staring to ease her tension. "I love you, Syntheia," Alea whispered. "That's what's happening. We love you, even if they don't seem to understand you have to say that first."

Terresa, Lexey, and Stacey went to object, but Syntheia didn't hear them as Alea leaned forward, connecting their lips gently.

Syntheia melted into her arms, pulling her closer.

Alea smirked against her lips while Syntheia's hands snaked across her, one landing on her back and the other in her hair, which she began to run through.

 _It is soft like they were saying,_ Syntheia thought to herself.

After a long moment, the two pulled apart, Syntheia smiling shyly at the beaming Alea.

"So... that happened."

"Yup!" Alea said excitedly, pulling her closer. "So, you wanna go out?"

Syntheia jumped in shock, seeming to realize **exactly** what had just happened.

"Oh my Dust," she whispered. "That really just happened."

"You just said that, love," Terresa said with a fond eye roll.

"So... you all-"

"I told you you need to tell her," Alea hissed.

"Fine," Stacey said, but there was a small smile on her red face. "I love you, Theia."

Syntheia ducked her head.

"I love you too, Stac. You too, Ally."

Alea smiled so brightly that it shined through her semblance.

"Love you, Syntheia," Terresa said with a smirk, leaning closer to her.

Syntheia knew it was stupid that she felt like she needed to hear all of them say it... but she didn't care. It was beautiful to hear.

"I love you too, Ter," she muttered, smiled even as she blushed.

Lexey grabbed Syntheia's face in her hands and looked into her eyes.

"I love you, Syntheia," she whispered gently.

"Love you too, Lex," she said just as quietly.

The whole situation still seemed fake. But, to be fair, she had just been sitting there on the couch, minding her own Dust damn business, when all four of her crushes came bursting in to kiss her suddenly and then tell her they loved her. She was allowed to think this was a dream, considering she'd had a dream **just** like this the night before... except it _definitely_ felt real.

Syntheia subtly pinched herself, making Stacey scoff with laughter, leaning forward and setting her head on Syntheia's shoulder.

"So do you want to go out with us?" Alea asked, her smile still on full display.

Syntheia flushed but managed a nod.

"I'd... I'd like that, yeah..."

"Great!" Lexey cheered.

Suffice it to say, Syntheia had a great afternoon!


	18. Missing Persons Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the title I swear this is a fun fluff chap

Lightning crashed in the distance, thunder rolling through the heavens and transporting the ominous noise into the Belladonna-Schnee household. The walls shook with the power of the storm, and crying sounded in the distance (Alea gently put earmuffs over Adolpha's head to make sure she wasn't bothered too much by the storm).

"One of you did it," Blake growled.

"Did... what?" Syntheia asked slowly, glancing at her new girlfriends. She blushed immediately at the thought. It still made her heart race to think that she _really_ had the chance to date the four of them. They'd been going out for almost three days now, and it was still a shock.

"She's playing coy," Blake drawled slowly, glaring darkly at the newest member of team ATLSS. "She did it!"

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down," Alea said quickly, putting one hand on Syntheia's shoulder to soothe her while the other landed on Stacey's to calm her down. Stacey looked like she was a rabid dog that was just about ready to chase the cat faunus through the house for insinuating that her new girlfriend had done something wrong. "What happened?"

Syntheia blushed as she glanced down at Alea's hand on her shoulder. It was a nice reminder that she really **hadn't** dreamed everything up. Stacey seemed to notice her response and gave her a smirk and a wink. Syntheia grinned and winked back.

"Someone _stole_ Mr. Roar!" Blake growled.

There was a snicker.

"M-Mr. Roar? You named him _Mr. Roar_? Isn't he a stuffed lion?" Rachel asked, eyebrow raised with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Don't make me come over there, Vine! You're on **very** thin ice as it is!" Blake hissed.

"Hey, we didn't take the stuffed animal, alright? We're supposed to be watching the seven, right? Why would we do that?" Natalie asked, putting her arm around Rachel's shoulders. To the casual observer, it would look like she was trying to comfort or protect Rachel from Blake. But with a closer look, one could tell that Natalie was planting Rachel in place to make sure that she stayed where she was and didn't say something she shouldn't.

"You are supposed to, but who knows what you hoodlums might do," Blake said, glaring.

"Hey, Blakey, calm down, they've been helping us for months, I'm sure whatever happened to Mr. Roar was an accident and we'll find him soon," Ruby comforted.

"And how am I supposed to know that that's not your guilty conscience talking?!" Blake growled.

"Hey, Blake, calm down, seriously. Let's think about this logically," Yang said. She hesitated. "Oh my dust, I never thought the day would come when I'd actually end up saying that," Yang shook her head, "that's not the point. The point is-"

"Logical... you're right, Yang. Alibis! What are all of your alibis?!" Blake pointed at Rachel first, who smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"We were three girlfriends alone in our room together, what do you _think_ we were doing?" Rachel asked.

"We were playing cards," Ivy said idly, not seeming to pay attention to the matter at hand.

Rachel gave her a look of betrayal.

"Ives!" she hissed.

"We were playing go fish. Rachel was very into it."

"She didn't win a single round," Natalie supplied.

"Because you two cheat!" Rachel howled.

"No we don't!" Natalie hissed.

"You should see the way _that one_ shuffles cards!" Rachel jabbed her finger at Ivy, who pulled out a deck of cards and preceded to start shuffling, bridging the cards with ease.

"Aces are wild," Ivy drawled, sending Rachel a wink before letting the cards fly from one hand to the other. "And so am I."

Rachel flushed a dark shade of red.

"See?! Did you see that?! She cheats!"

"How is that cheating?!" Natalie hissed.

"She's all... distracting!" Rachel growled.

Ivy ran one finger down the deck of cards slowly.

"Somethin' wrong, darlin'?"

Rachel stared at Ivy for a moment before her gaze darted away.

"Regardless, her semblance lets her cheat," Rachel said, crossing her arms again and not looking at her laughing girlfriends.

"This is off topic!" Blake snapped. "So you three were upstairs, but do you have any proof?"

"Other than Rachel having a hissy fit about us cheating at a kids game?" Natalie asked.

Rachel elbowed her.

"Yes, obviously other than that," Blake said, tapping her foot in irritation.

There was a beat of silence from the three before Ivy cracked a grin.

"We have a game on video."

She pulled out her scroll while Rachel protested.

"Hey, that's not very-"

Natalie her hand over Rachel's mouth, grinning like a fool as she watched the video.

"Got any queens?" Rachel asked.

"Just you, sweet stuff," Ivy said, giving her a wink.

Natalie swore that Ivy did this kind of thing _just_ to see Rachel blush.

Ivy definitely did.

Rachel flushed a dark shade of red on the video.

"Do you have any queen cards or not?!" she hissed.

Ivy leaned forward toward Rachel, who froze.

She put her lips right beside her ear before whispering, "Go fish."

"HAH!" real Rachel shouted, leaping forward to pause the video. "Down! She looked down! Right at my cards! I knew you two cheated!"

"We didn't cheat!" Natalie groaned. "You're just pissy that Ivy distracted you, now shut up and watch the video to prove our innocence!"

The video continued, and showed that the three hadn't done anything to Mr. Roar.

That made Blake turn to team ATLSS, glowering at the five.

"So it was a team effort," she said lowly.

"What?! We weren't anywhere _near_ the kids for the last hour, Blake!" Alea cried, eyes wide.

"Prove it."

"Uh... do we have any proof, guys?" Alea whispered.

"We were all in the living room for the past hour," Stacey said with a sly smirk.

Syntheia flushed.

"Team ORIN over there took the bedroom to... apparently play go fish, so we were forced down here because _someone_ gets shy," Stacey continued.

Syntheia turned redder.

"Aw, isn't she so cute?" Lexey asked, reaching over and pinching Syntheia's face.

"What were you doing?" Blake demanded.

Stacey smirked.

"Do you really want to know?" she asked.

Blake glared at her darker.

"Someone seems a little unsure about her new relationship, we were just making her feel at home," Terresa said, throwing an arm around Syntheia's shoulders.

"But you have no evidence," Blake growled.

"Wait! Wait, I have evidence!" Syntheia cried, scrambling to pull her scroll out of her pocket. She turned it on and revealed her new lock screen, which was all five members of team ATLSS cuddling on the couch, her four girlfriends grinning up at the camera. "We took that an hour ago, I have the time stamp to verify."

Blake glared darkly, turning to face her wives.

"So it was one of **you** ," she said lowly.

"Blake, why in the _world_ would we steal Akio's favorite toy?!" Weiss cried.

"Your treachery won't work on me," Blake said.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Weiss hissed.

"Guys, it's on the floor."

Everyone turned to look at Ruby, who was crouched down on the ground, hand on Mr. Roar.

"He was on the floor the whole time. Good detective work, Blakey."

Ruby turned and gently put the toy beside Akio before walking out of the room.

"Unbelievable," Weiss grumbled, stalking after Ruby.

"Good job, Kitkat," Yang said with an eye roll.

Team ORIN and ATLSS left, laughing to themselves, while Blake stared at Akio in shock.

She'd... she'd checked the ground! How could...

-

"Good trick there, Rubes," Yang muttered.

"Well, it was only possible because Weiss distracted her," Ruby said, leaning against Weiss' side and giving her a quick kiss.

"We agreed never to speak of this again. That includes now," Weiss said.

"Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some people seem to like my OCs so I thought I'd give them some superlatives
> 
> Most popular OC: Ivy  
> Most likely to be called adorable: Alea  
> Only OC that had a planned character arc: Natalie  
> Most likely to roast the s*** out of someone: Stacey  
> Best semblance: Ivy/Alea (I can't split them up guys they're too cute together)  
> Most likely to be overlooked: Terresa (but I swear she's fun, I just think most people forget about her)  
> Most likely to curse: Rachel  
> First OC created: Rachel  
> Most character development: Tempted to give this one to Syntheia, but Natalie's come so far guys. Also, Ivy? Anyone wanna give it up for the girl that gave up her own language and now can communicate with people better than ever before?  
> Most random OC (one that I never meant to have reoccur): Alea  
> Character most made out of spite: Alea  
> Character who surprised the most people: Alea (nobody expected her to be likable apparently)  
> Character with the most ship controversy: Rachel (I had a lot of people thinking about who she should end up with for a while lol)  
> Most likely to cuss someone out: Syntheia (Stacey prefers to have eloquent insults, Syntheia will just call you a sloppy hoe)  
> Least likely to cuss someone out: Lexey (Alea is like that person that accidentally does it because they don't know what the words mean)  
> Hardest character to write correctly: Honestly I used to have trouble with Ivy, now she's the easiest. Currently most difficult is... I guess Syntheia because she's new?  
> Character that I've heard made people cry: Ivy  
> Character that ALMOST made me cry: To be honest, I don't cry at much (seriously, even my closest friends haven't seen me cry), but to create Ivy, Natalie, and Syntheia and their backstories, I dug into MY past, so each of their stories actually took a lot out of me.  
> Character I relate to most: Ivy. She's hard to understand, smart as a whip but nobody seems to notice, people thought she was mentally disabled, etc. She's relatable to me in the ways she shouldn't be lol
> 
> Anyways, if you have any other questions about them like the ones above, I'd be happy to answer!!!


	19. The Beginning

Ivy didn't know if she was ready for this, she really didn't.

Ivy was a strong person. Dust, she could take out countless Grimm, win battles against entire teams of her classmates, and had grown so much this year...

But she had a weakness. Well, to be accurate, she had _several_ different weaknesses, but this was her biggest one, for sure.

"Are you sure?" Alea whispered, setting her hand on Ivy's shoulder to calm her down.

Ivy glanced over at her, smiling just slightly.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm ready, I'm just a little..."

"I know," Alea whispered.

"But I have to do this."

"I know."

Ivy turned her gaze to the large house in front of her. She'd thought that when she'd left for Beacon, she'd be free. And she had been, but apparently the past was still coming back to haunt her.

"I didn't know your parents were loaded, Ives," Rachel said, grabbing her hand and giving it a tight squeeze. Clearly she was trying to distract her girlfriend.

"I guess you could say they are. They're high ranking in the SDC."

Natalie stiffened.

"They are?" the bat faunus asked.

"They _are_?" Weiss asked in disbelief. She was sitting in the front of the airship with Blake, the cat faunus having flown them here. She'd been taking lessons from Neo lately, and she had yet to crash the plane. Team ORIN and ATLSS had been sure that she would anyways on the way, Lexey being dramatic and proclaiming her love for her girlfriends while saying she was going to die in crash and she wanted them to know.

Stacey had smacked her on the arm while blushing, saying they weren't going to die.

Terresa had joined in dramatically, crying out "I'LL SAVE YOU, LEX!"

Alea had just said how sweet it was that Lexey would use her last words to say that she loved them.

Syntheia had just blushed and stayed quiet because of her embarrassment.

But the group had gotten to Ivy's parents house in one piece, even though a part of Ivy wondered if losing a limb might have been preferable, but she didn't say anything about that.

Her parents had called her twenty times in the past week, wondering where Ivy was. They were worried about her, apparently, even though Ivy had told them that she was staying with team RWBY over the summer with her team and five others. Ivy had been sending them random texts whenever they asked if she was okay, but she'd been trying to avoid them as much as she could. It didn't work, apparently, because now they were demanding that she came over before they called the authorities and got team RWBY arrested.

So, naturally, Ivy was here to see them, despite not wanting to. If it weren't for her caring about team RWBY, she would have said "screw it" and gone on the run... in fact, she had thought about it, but Natalie and Rachel had stopped her when she was midway through packing her bags to leave. So that didn't work, which meant that shew was here, standing in the front yard of her parents house trying not to touch anything. She didn't want to sense the memories of this place.

She had kept her shoes on, had worn extra thick woolen socks, and had on Natalie's thick leather jacket over her clothing. She didn't want to have to feel this place. She already had enough memories of it to last a life time, had had to feel it for her entire childhood...

Ivy was tired of the confusion, the misunderstandings, the yelling..

She was putting an end to it today.

Her whole life, she hadn't been able to communicate, hadn't been able to properly explain what was so _different_ about her to her parents, but Ivy was tired of it. She finally had the ability to talk to people in a way that they could understand, and she was going to use it to say what she had always meant to.

She took one last deep breath before she stepped forward onto the grass, glancing back at her friends. She felt a bit blind at the moment while wearing so much, considering it restricted air flow and didn't let her feel the vibrations from the ground, but it was worth it not to have to feel everything else around here.

Her friends seemed hesitant on if they should follow her inside, but Alea figured out what Ivy needed almost instantly.

"Hey, guys, let's go meet Ivy's parents, what do you say?" Alea said.

They all nodded, Blake and Weiss glancing at each other.

"Keep her running, will ya?" Rachel asked, giving them a small grin. But there was a serious look in her eyes, which made the pair nod.

As Ivy set foot on the grass, the front door was thrown open and two familiar figures came running outside. She could see her older siblings watching from the window, each with narrowed eyes. Not even they liked Ivy that much. She'd been the baby of the familiar, as the youngest, but it had only gotten worse when her parents had realized that she was... well she had realized that Ivy was Ivy.

"Ivy! Thank goodness you're back!" her father cried. He stopped, staring at Ivy with narrowed eyes. "What are you wearing."

"A jacket," Ivy said easily, trying to keep her heart from racing too quickly.

Her parents seemed a bit surprised to find that Ivy was speaking like a normal person.

"Well, how about we get you out of that and inside?" her mother asked, stepping forward and reaching toward Ivy.

Ivy took a step back, avoiding her hand with ease. She'd been able to predict its exact trajectory.

Her mother hesitated.

"Ivy, what's going on with you?" she asked, voice turning harsh.

Ivy took one last deep breath, holding it in for a long moment before she turned her gaze, looking up at making eye contact with her mother.

"Nothing's wrong with me, Mother," Ivy said, her voice crystal clear. That took her parents aback, her mother even taking one step backward. "But I'm not going inside. I'm not going back in there."

"What?!" her father cried, taking a step forward.

Ivy didn't so much as blink at the action.

"I'm not going in there. And you're going to stop threatening my friends."

"Ivy Hanson, get in that house!" her father cried. "You don't know what's best for you, so _listen_ to me!"

Ivy flinched.

"You've **never** known what's best for you!" her father berated. Ivy took a shaking breath. "We should have known better than to let you go to that stupid school!"

Ivy took a step back before she steeled herself.

"You sent me to that school because you were afraid of me. You wanted to have something else over my head so that when I came back, you could have something else that you could threaten to take away if I didn't behave, because you've always been afraid of me. You've never done anything but try to control me, and I'm not going to let it go on anymore."

Ivy was breathing a bit heavier now, her eyes prickling with tears.

"But now I have my **own** voice, and you can't take it from me anymore!" Ivy cried. "It took me leaving here," she gestured at _the house_ , "to finally find it because you two tried to keep it from me! I cried out for help, but all you could ever do was send me to the doctors. So many doctors... I _told_ you to **stop**... but you never listened to me, did you?" Ivy sniffed. "Why would you ever listen to me? Why would _anyone_ ever listen to me? Because as long as you made sure that nobody understood me... I could never hurt anyone. I could never know things I shouldn't. Because when I told you, dad, that 'thirteen percent of married women cheat on their husbands,' that was just... that was just me being _crazy_ wasn't it?"

Her mother gasped and took a step back. Ivy glowered at the pair, taking one step forward. She didn't care. She wasn't going to let this happen anymore.

"Because it's always been easier to point out how crazy I am than to accept that I'm saying the truth, isn't it?" Ivy whispered. "I could feel that you knew what I meant. Everyday, I could sense it. And every _damn day of my life_ you told me that I was insane. Do you know what it's like to be told every day of your life that there's something wrong with you?" Ivy took a deep breath. "No. You don't. I can feel it from you. And you know what else?" Ivy smiled. "I don't care. I don't care anymore. I don't care about either of you anymore, and the only thing I can take comfort in," Ivy chuckled wryly, "well, I can feel that both of you know it, I don't have to say it. And," Ivy suddenly beamed, "I don't think I ever have to say anything to you two ever again, do I?"

Ivy turned and took a deep breath, taking off Natalie's jacket and handing it back to her.

She started to walk back to the airship, but hesitated. She could sense that someone was racing toward her.

Ivy spun on her heel, grabbing a hand in mid air and holding it tight in her fist.

"You fear me," Ivy said lowly. "You were right to."

Ivy glared at her father, well, father might not be the right word considering what Ivy had just revealed, and let her semblance flow, her conscience melding with his own. When Ivy was younger, she didn't want her parents to touch her because their fear and anger would always overwhelm Ivy.

But now...

Ivy was comfortable and sure enough in who she was that this time she forced her will upon him, as he had done to her for her entire life.

It only took a moment of memories and pain flowing from Ivy before he fell to the ground, crying out.

Ivy let go of his wrist immediately and turned.

Ivy glared at her mother, eyes narrowed.

"Do we have a problem?" Ivy asked lowly.

Her mother scrambled back, falling onto the ground.

"Good," Ivy said. She stepped onto the airship and took a seat primly, staring ahead of herself blankly, clearly lost in thought. She slowly reached down and threw her shoes off, letting her feet land on the airship beneath her. She enjoyed the returning senses, enjoying feeling of something that had nothing to do with... that place.

After a moment, Rachel and Natalie both sat down on either side of her. Alea unceremoniously plopped down onto the ground in front of her, setting her hands on her legs and leaning back against her.

While the airship started to lift into the air, Ivy curled up in Natalie's arms, letting her wings wrap around Rachel, Alea, Natalie, and herself and pulling them all closer (Alea was even thrown onto the chairs with a quiet sound of shock).

Ivy took one last shaky breath before she began to cry. But it wasn't a cry of sadness.

It was a release of the stress and baggage that she had been carrying for as long as remember.

Ivy was no longer the little girl she used to be, the one that learned to speak before any of the other babies, but could never figure out how to use those words to communicate.

She wasn't the girl she used to be, the one that would curl up in the corner of the classroom when everything was too loud, when her senses were overloaded by everything being too much.

She wasn't even the girl that had been when she had first met Rachel and Natalie, the girl that couldn't put two words together without having to resort to the language she had made, the language that had made sense to the girl that could see everything.

She wasn't what she had been, but she was something new, something better, she thought. She was the woman that she had always wanted to be, the one that had finally been allowed to become herself and had been guided toward that person by her friends and girlfriends.

She leaned back, relaxing in their arms and smiling just slightly.

It was over. It was all over.

But Ivy was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Ivy get a virtual hug for her character growth?
> 
> Also: I have a few options for new chapters, need some votes (all of them will be written, but I can't write all at the same time so just tell me which you're most interested in and I'll post those first)!  
> Options-  
> 1) Check up on some other characters  
> 2) Meet the rest of Syntheia's team  
> 3) Learn some semblances of the SEVEN


	20. Semblances

Adolpha rolled her shoulders, rubbing at her eyes.

"You having another headache?" Jin asked quietly, leaning against the bed that Adolpha laid on.

"Yeah," Adolpha replied. She opened her eyes and was pleased to find that there was only one shadow coming from Jin. "You're decisive today."

Jin gave her a playful smile.

"Only because I have to be."

Adolpha nodded.

Even in the eleven years she'd been alive, she hadn't been able to fully get accustomed to her semblance, especially since it was mixed with her wolf ears.

There was always too much going on, too much to hear, too much to see.

Adolpha didn't understand what it was about people, but they could never seem to make a decision. Akio was the worst of the bunch, actually, but Adolpha could forgive him that. He always had a lot on his plate.

"Do you want me to call Aunty S?" Jin whispered. She spoke slow and deliberately, clearly trying to ensure that she had thought long and hard about her actions and would therefore only have one shadow.

Adolpha shook her head.

"Aunt Ivy?"

Adolpha shook her head again, forcing herself to a sitting position.

"No, I'll be alright. Maybe just try to make sure the others keep the noise down?" Adolpha asked.

Jin nodded quickly, standing up and holding out her hand.

Adolpha took it and let herself be dragged to a sitting position, glad that the armadillo faunus still didn't have multiple shadows.

However, when the door opened, Adolpha was met with dozens upon dozens of silver-colored shadows that branched out from objects and people all around her.

The vase in front of her had only one shadow, and she threw out her hand.

A moment later, Aella came gliding down the hall, laughing excitedly.

Her foot bumped the vase, and it tumbled toward the ground. Adolpha caught it with her outstretched hand and put it on the table.

"Thanks, Dolph!" Aella cried, looking back at her with a roguish grin.

Adolpha watched her shadows, eyes flickering over them quickly. The first had Aella slamming face-first against the wall, the second had her plummeting and hitting the ground, and the third had her narrowly avoiding both obstacles.

The third one was the darkest, which meant it was the least likely possibility.

"Aella! Down and to the left!" Adolpha called, turning her back and walking down the hall. She didn't see Aella narrowly avoid the wall _and_ the floor.

"You're the best, Dolpha!" she called

Adolpha waved her hand dismissively, not looking back at her.

Two shadow appeared in front of Adolpha. One had Crystal slamming against Jin's chest and falling backward, that one was a bright shade of silver, and the other had Crystal racing down the hall unencumbered. Very unlikely.

Adolpha grabbed Jin by the hand and tugged her closer to her.

Crystal raced past, following exactly in the footsteps of the shadow.

"Hey, you're getting way better at interpreting it," Jin said with a grin.

"I guess. Syntheia's been good at helping me with that," Adolpha said.

That, aside from the headaches that the over input of senses, was the hardest part of her semblance.

It had been difficult to get to the point where she could tell which future she should focus on and how to make that one a reality in time before whatever else happened, but she really had been getting better at it.

Meanwhile, Crystal scampered down the hall, skidding to a stop when she saw Aella.

"You little rat," Crystal growled, eyes on fire.

"It's not my fault! You know I'm right!" Aella called.

Crystal flushed.

"How dare you!" she hissed, scrambling for the weapon at her waist. She grabbed the rapier and thrust it in Aella's direction.

A glyph appeared beneath the sugar glider faunus, and she cursed loudly as she fell to the ground.

"Hey! I thought we said no semblances!" Aella called as she attempted to scramble to her feet.

Crystal gave her a smug smirk.

"Fine!"

Aella raised one hand, her eyes starting to glow as the wind in the hallway picked up, slamming against Crystal.

Crystal cried out in shock as she was thrown back toward a chair that Akio was sitting in.

Akio really hadn't been doing anything, really. He had been minding his own business, truly, he was actually known for that when it came to his semblances, and had even been reading his book.

He looked up when he heard Crystal screaming, his eyes going wide as she flew toward him.

After a moment of consideration, Akio disappeared from his chair and reappeared behind Aella.

As Crystal fell into the chair, Akio raised his book and smacked Aella in the back of the head with it.

"What'd moms say about using your semblance in the house?!" Akio hissed, glaring darkly.

Aella winced.

"Not to?"

"AELLA!" Weiss shrieked.

Aella flinched.

"Cover for me?"

"Why would I do that?" Akio asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I'm your sister and you love me?"

"Pass."

"Fine! I'll... I'll do your math homework?"

"We all know that Adolpha's the only one better at math than me."

"...Then I'll get her to do your math homework!"

Akio considered.

"Deal. Now scram."

Aella blew him a kiss before she dropped down to all fours, scurrying down the hall. After a minute, she threw herself into the air, arms and legs spread out and letting her gliding through the air.

Weiss skidded to a stop in the room, glaring darkly.

"I heard the wind pass through here. What'd Aella do this time?!"

Akio was leaning against the wall, reading his book casually.

"Aella? Haven't seen her all day," he said, glancing up.

"Then how did _that_ ," Weiss gestured at Crystal, who was laying upside down on the chair with a dizzy look in her eyes, "happen?!"

"She's clumsy."

Crystal groaned.

"Is that so?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup. You know her," Akio said.

Weiss stared at him darkly for a long moment before she finally nodded.

"If you're covering for her, you're both getting in trouble for this."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not," Akio said, giving her a small, innocent smile.

Weiss didn't seem convinced, but she stalked over and helped Crystal to her feer. Once the two had left the room, Aella poked her head through the vents.

"Why do you insist on using the air vents?!" Akio hissed. "It's so weird!"

"They're efficient and secret."

"We can all hear you scurrying around in there."

"No way!"

"Just make sure that Adolpha gets this done," Akio hissed, passing his homework in through the vents.

Aella took it and saluted him.

"Can do!"

She scurried through the vents.

-

Aella's head popped out of the vents in shadow form, and Adolpha raised an eyebrow as she followed the shadow.

"What do you want, Aella?"

Jin let out a cry of shock as she saw the other girl emmerge.

Sometimes, Adolpha forgot that it was so easy to surprise other people.

"Do I have to want something? Maybe I'm just here to say hello to my favorite oldest sister-"

"What do you want?" Adolpha pushed.

"Fine! I want you to do this worksheet."

"Is this Akio's math homework?"

Aella nodded.

"Why do you want me to do this?"

"I owe him one."

"Didn't know you actually followed through on your promises," Jin said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! I always get to them! Eventually..."

Adolpha huffed and leaned forward, snatching the paper from Aella.

"You know what I want in return," the wolf faunus said.

Aella rolled her eyes.

"I'm not running a black market over here, Dolpha."

"Don't you though?" Adolpha asked. "I know you have way too many things in those vents. I can hear them rattling around at night."

Aella sighed.

"Fine! Fine! But for the record, I think you're too good for her."

Adolpha flushed.

"That's not what I want, ya weirdo!" she hissed.

"Then what do you want?"

Adolpha rolled her eyes.

"The usual."

Aella sighed.

"Fine! Ugh, you're all so weird. Just finish the homework."

Adolpha grabbed a pencil from the counter, Akio left them everywhere around the house, which was sometimes convenient, and started on the homework.

Math was an easy subject for her, considering she did it on a daily basis. It's how she used her semblance, for Dust's sake!

"Done."

"Thanks, sis!" Aella said, throwing her arms around Adolpha's shoulders and giving her a tight hug before she took the paper and raced off into the vents.

Weiss suddenly barreled into the room. She was the only mother here today, and she was struggling to keep track of everyone.

"Have you seen Aella?"

"She went that way," Jin said, pointing to the left and in the opposite direction of where Aella had gone.

"Thanks, hon," Weiss said before racing off.

"Didn't know you could lie like that," Adolpha said with a small smirk on her face.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Jin replied, giving her a wry grin.

-

Aella stuck her head into the air vent in Akio's bedroom.

She dropped the paper and Akio jumped, flushing slightly as he pushed Mr. Roar away from himself, trying to pretend that he hadn't been cuddling with him.

Aella rolled her eyes and opened the vents with familiar ease, lowering herself and dropping onto Akio's bed.

"She finished already?"

"You know Dolpha," Aella whispered, closing the air vent and scurrying across the room to lay on her own bed. She pulled her cloak around herself like a blanket, leaning back against the pillow.

Weiss stuck her head inside, eyes narrowing when she saw Aella.

"Where have you been, young lady?" she asked.

"In here," Aella said, giving her an innocent smile. "I was just talking with Akio about our homework."

Weiss glared darkly at her and seemed like she was trying to find a way to catch Aella, but she couldn't, so she just growled and left the room.

Aella grinned and scurried back into the vents.

She opened them up, and let out a scream of shock.

A hand slapped over her mouth.

"Thought you were known for being a sneak," Lavey whispered, smirking as she looked down at her sister.

Aella rolled her eyes, pulling Lavey's hand off of her mouth.

"Wanna go out for a spar?" Lavey asked immediately, an excited grin on her face.

Aella shuddered.

"No way, Lav. You fight dirty."

"I don't fight dirty! You're just jealous cause you always lose."

"I'm angry because you fight mean!" Aella hissed, rubbing at her shoulder, which still hurt after the last time they'd fought.

A week ago.

"I'm busy, Lav. Maybe later, I guess..."

"Don't make me tell Momma," Lavey said with a smirk.

Aella groaned.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would."

"Why do you wanna fight me?!" Aella all but whined as she looked up at her sister in the vents.

Lavey shrugged.

"I dunno. Thought it'd be fun. Plus, nobody else wants to play."

"Because you play rough!" Aella hissed.

Lavey rolled her eyes.

"Are you in or not?"

Aella sighed.

"Fine! But I gotta take Adolpha for a flight first."

Lavey's eyes grew excited.

"Ooh! Can I come with?!"

"Lav, just because you're tiny doesn't mean I can carry you."

"You can and have carry me because, and I quote, 'I weigh less than Mr. Roar,' now are you going to let me go for a fly or not?"

"You can either fight or fly, I'm not doing both," Aella said, crossing her arms.

Akio started to snicker.

"It's a _fight or flight_ situation," he said.

"Shut it, nerd," Lavey said, rolling her eyes. "Fine! Take me for a flight and I'll find someone else to fight."

Lavey scurried through the vents and Aella sighed before following after her.

Today was going to be a long day.

-

Ivy awoke, a small smile on her face as she turned over in bed, letting herself curl up beside Natalie and Rachel.

She was asleep again soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are just a bunch of hilarious incorrect quotes from the kids. Read at your own risk :P
> 
> Crystal: MOMS! MOMS! THERE'S A MONSTER UNDER MY BED!  
> Auburn: *on the bottom bunk beneath Crystal* Why do you hate me, sister?  
> Crystal: You take too long in the damn shower! You know what you did!  
> -  
> Yang: Aw, you're just the cutest!  
> Lavey: *five years old* Mother, I am the bringer of destruction and pain upon this universe. I would ask you to refrain from calling me "cute."  
> Yang: Who wants cookies?!  
> Lavey: *the literal embodiment of sunshine* OOOH! ME! I WANT ONE, MOMMY!!!  
> -  
> Jin: I need one of the things.  
> Akio: Things? What things?  
> Jin: The... the wiggly wobbly things!  
> Akio: I know you're literate, use your words.  
> Jin: THE WIG WOBBLES!  
> Adolpha: Ah, yes, the wig wobbles, they're beside the cranky cranks.  
> Jin: Thanks. At least SOMEONE wants to help.  
> Akio: ARE YOU SPEAKING ENGLISH??????????  
> -  
> Crystal: I'm going to need some serious therapy after this.  
> Aella: First of all, it was just our moms making out. Second of all, why go to therapy when it's free to tell yourself 'it be like that sometimes.'  
> Crystal: W-what? No! Is that what you tell yourself?!  
> Aella: Well, duh. Momma Yang taught me that.  
> Crystal: Damnit-  
> -  
> Adolpha: My headache is so bad I can't even see straight.  
> Crystal: *not even looking up from her scroll* Of course you can't. You've never seen straight a day in your life.  
> Adolpha: Bit-  
> -  
> Adolpha: How do I get lesbian advice?  
> Aella (sarcastically): Lesbian seance. Talk to the famous lesbians of the past.  
> Jin: GREAT IDEA!  
> Crystal: Ask our mothers, you idiots!  
> -  
> Crystal: The seven of us have one brain cell. You can not hold us accountable for what I did when I didn't have it.  
> Weiss: LAVEY THREW YOURSELF OFF THE ROOF SCREAMING "AELLA YOU THINK YOU'RE SO COOL JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN FLY, BUT GUESS WHAT?!"  
> Crystal: She didn't have the brain cell. Aella did.  
> Weiss: WHAT??? HOW SO?!  
> Crystal: Yea, she had the bright idea to video tape it.  
> Aella and Crystal: *high five*  
> -  
> Lavey: *five years old* These fists are rated E for everyone.  
> Adolpha: *sighing sufferingly* YOU CAN'T SAY THAT EVERY TIME SOMEONE BORROWS YOUR CRAYONS!  
> -  
> Crystal: Everyone, stop lying and come clean!  
> Aella: *snickering* Yeah, lesbi-honest.  
> Adolpha: *dead pan* I'll kill you.  
> -  
> Akio: Mom, I... I think I'm straight.  
> Yang: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!  
> *a moment of silence*  
> Akio and Yang: *start laughing*  
> -  
> Lavey: Why aren't koalas bears?  
> Adolpha: They're marsupials.  
> Lavey: N-no... they... they don't have the koalifications...  
> Adolpha: That's stupid.  
> Lavey: *crying*  
> -  
> Crystal: This is stupid.  
> Adolpha: You're just jealous. *looks at siblings, who are all wearing shirts that say "If lost, please return to Adolpha"*


	21. Team SYNT

Syntheia was... horrified.

Well, horrified sounded like overkill. Or maybe it wasn't. If she had told her girlfriends that she was quite possibly considering throwing herself out of the window... well, they would have a myriad of different responses. Alea would gently lead her out of the room and talk to her, Stacey would tell her to stop being an idiot, Terresa would snicker, and Lexey would latch onto her arm and give her wink while saying something about making sure that she didn't leave them to deal with this all alone.

Her... friends had decided to pass by and check on her during the summer, and they were... well, they were annoying.

Don't get Syntheia wrong, she liked her teammates, a lot, but they were still... they were still annoying as dust.

Yolanda was looking at Syntheia with a smug smirk, leaning against the island counter in the kitchen and looking at the team leader like the cat that ate the canary.

Tucker was just grinning excitedly, sitting on the chair and looking at the rest of team ATLSS.

"So you just straight up left our team?" Nithin asked.

"I didn't leave!" Syntheia said quickly. "I was just staying for the summer and I thought that I'd-"

" _Experiment_ with them?" Yolanda asked, one eyebrow raised.

Syntheia flushed a dark shade of red, Stacey and Terresa starting to laugh in the background. Lexey silenced them with a small glare and a shush.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker asked innocently.

"I have no idea," Syntheia said quickly.

"It means that Syntheia here has had her tongue down these four girls' throats for the past few weeks," Yolanda said, waving her hand indifferently.

Rachel burst out laughing, falling against Natalie's side and almost hitting the ground. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't _that_ funny, Rach," she muttered, reaching down and grabbing Rachel in a bridal carry to keep her from falling over completely.

"It totally was!" Rachel hissed.

Natalie sighed and shook her head, flushing just slightly.

"Y-you know what? I think I'm going to go take her out of here, she definitely needs a minute to calm down," Natalie said to the whole group. She shifted her hold and threw Rachel over her shoulder like a rucksack.

Rachel cried out in shock and started to wiggle.

"Nat, you little jerk, put me down!" she hissed.

"Stop squirming! You're like a dust damn gremlin!" Natalie growled as she walked out of the room.

The two team watched the pair walk out, leaving Ivy just idly standing there, her gaze distracted.

Alea cleared her throat, causing Ivy to look at her.

"Oh, should I have left?" she asked. "Did I make this awkward"

Alea just smirked at her.

"Right, sorry. I'll just... make sure my girlfriends don't get in a fight. Or start making out loudly. I'll be in the other room if you need me, Lea."

Ivy walked out of the room with a slight bounce to her step and joining her teammates and girlfriends.

There was a moment of silence from the group before Alea turned back to look at Syntheia's team. Well, her other team, that is.

"I think that we should maybe... talk about this," Alea said slowly.

"Babe, you really shouldn't be the one that does this. You know how awkward you are," Lexey whispered, putting a hand on Alea's shoulder.

"Right...," Alea glanced at the other team and gave them a charming smirk, "I'd hate to scare them away."

Yolanda whistled, nudging Syntheia.

"Wow, man! Can't blame you for leaving for _that._ "

Syntheia flushed again and shoved her partner.

"Shut up," she hissed.

"Like _seriously_! How did you get not just **her** but _all of them_ to fall for you? You _dog_!" Yolanda continued.

"Drop it!" Syntheia growled. She was far too embarrassed to be intimidating, and her partner laughed at her.

"Yeah, seriously, drop it," Nithin said.

Stacey raised an eyebrow at the words, slipping her hand into Syntheia's own.

Syntheia glanced at her and seemed a bit frustrated that Stacey had decided to embarrass her more this way, but didn't say anything about it.

"So you left us because you had the hots for some girl?" Nithin asked with a glare.

"Multiple girls," Tucker corrected.

Syntheia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before she took a deep breath and stared at her teammates.

"To be fair, I didn't have a crush on any of them when I decided to join them," she said.

"Oh that's a load of crap," Terresa said with an eye roll. "You were into Alea from the moment you two met!"

Syntheia flushed and kicked her in the ankle.

"Did not!"

Ivy poked her head into the kitchen.

"She totally did."

Syntheia threw a fork at her, and Ivy smacked it out of the air without looking at it.

"You told me she didn't like me like that," Alea said, frowning just slightly.

"She did _what_?" Syntheia asked, eyes wide.

Ivy smirked and pulled out of the room.

"Hey, get back here!" Syntheia cried. Ivy didn't. "What's her problem? Why would she say that?"

"Ivy always has her reasons," Alea said with a small smirk on her face as she turned back to the others.

"Anyways, let's get back to the matter at hand. You left us for the chance to make out with four hot chicks," Yolanda said, arms crossed as she glared at Syntheia for a long moment. Suddenly, she grinned. "GREAT JOB!"

She threw her arm around a surprised Syntheia's shoulders and started to laugh.

"Seriously?! That's what you say?!" Nithin cried, throwing his arms up in the air and making Syntheia grimace.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but it's not like we had anything going on! It's the summer!" Syntheia said.

Nithin crossed his arms.

"Whatever," he muttered.

Syntheia rolled her eyes.

"You're such a disaster lesbian, Synnie, seriously!" Yolanda said, starting to laugh.

Syntheia flushed and shoved her.

"Whatever."

"But you do know what this means, right?"

Syntheia frowned in confusion.

"We have to interrogate your new girls!"

Syntheia's eyes widened in horror.


	22. Drawings

Adolpha blinked in confusion.

"Excuse me," she said. The teacher turned toward five year old Adolpha. "My mommy said not to insult my teacher... but you're a poopoo head."

"Yeah! You're a poopoo head!" Crystal cried, slamming her little hand down on the table with a grin.

"Yeah!" Lacey shouted, starting to beat her hand on the table and starting a chant. "POOPOO HEAD! POOPOO HEAD! POOPOO HEAD!"

The rest of her siblings started to join in while Adolpha comforted a sniffling Jin, who had retreated to her scaled form, head dipped and set on Adolpha's head.

Adolpha had her ears pinned against her head as she glared at the teacher. She was growling lowly in her chest. Adolpha hadn't even known she could do that, and it reminded her of Blake's purring (even if it seemed like the antithesis of what her mother did).

But Jin seemed to react to Adolpha's growling the same way that she did to Blake's purring. She calmed some, smiling at her sister.

"It wasn't... it wasn't bad, was it?" Jin asked self consciously.

"I thought it was...," Adolpha remembered the word that Neo always called Ciel, "gorgeous. I thought it was gorgeous."

Jin gave her a small smile and looked at the paper.

When Adolpha's eyes landed on it, she was brought back to what had happened a couple of minutes ago.

_/_

_"Alright class!" the teacher said, clapping her hands together. Adolpha jumped and winced, her little hands coming up to cover her wolf ears. "Today, we're going to be drawing pictures of your families! Try to make them as realistic as possible._

_Jin seemed excited, reaching her tiny hands out to grab a few crayons._

_"Oh, I love drawing!" she said, bouncing in her seat._

_"I don't like drawing," Akio said, frowning. "The crowns are so icky."_

_"It's pronounced crayons, dunce," Crystal said, arms crossed._

_"Mommy said not to say that word," Auburn said._

_"Mommy says it all the time," Crystal pointed out._

_"But Mommy also said she'd wash our mouths out with sand if we said it," Auburn said._

_"Soap. Wash our mouths out with soap," Crystal corrected, shaking her head with an eye roll._

_"What are you seven doing?" the teacher asked with a small glare._

_"Talking," Crystal replied._

_"I'm making a drawering!" Jin said excitedly._

_"Drawing. You're making a drawing," the teacher corrected kindly._

_"Don't correct my sister," Crystal said with an angry glare._

_"I'm her teacher. I have to correct her, but it's sweet that you're protecting her."_

_Crystal huffed and was clearly about to say something, but Adolpha winced at the shadow of Crystal getting yelled at._

_"Calm down, Cy," the little wolf faunus said.  
_

_Crystal considered for just a moment before she sighed and looked away, starting on her drawing._

_"How much of my family should I draw?" Jin asked the teacher, her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Well do I draw just my siblings and parents, or should I draw all of my," Jin frowned and started to count on her fingers before she gave up after three, "aunts and uncles?"_

_"How many do you have?" the teacher asked._

_"Five," Akio said confidently._

_"No, that's way too many!" Auburn whined._

_"No, it's not enough. We have at least twenty," Crystal said confidently._

_"We don't have twenty!" Lavey said. "There's gotta be at least forty!"_

_"No way, there's-"  
_

_The teacher rubbed her forehead._

_"How about you just leave them out and just draw your parents and siblings?"_

_Jin grinned._

_"Yes, ma'am!"_

_Jin started to draw, sticking her tongue out of her mouth as she did so with a determined look on her face._

_After a few minutes, she proudly set down the crayon._

_"I'm done!" she cried._

_Her siblings crowded around her to get a better look at her drawing. It was, obviously, a bunch of stick figures, but it was good for a kid their age. Weiss, Blake, Ruby, and Yang were standing behind their children with proud smiles while the seven stood together._

_The teacher walked up to Jin with a smile._

_"Very good, Jin, you're the first one to have fin-"_

_She stopped when she looked at Jin's drawing._

_"Jin, I asked you to draw your family."  
_

_"I did!" Jin said proudly. "This is my family! These are my parents; Mom, Mommy, Momma, and Mama. And these are my siblings! That one's Adolpha, that one's Auburn, that one's Lavey, that one's Akio, that one's Aella, that's me, and that's Crystal!"_

_"Why does mine have a big head?" Crystal asked, frowning._

_"Cause you have a big head," Lavey replied._

_Crystal's tail twitched irritably and she glared at her sister._

_"No I don't!" her hands reached up and touched her head self consciously, making Lavey start to laugh._

_"Jin, I said to draw an accurate picture of your family," the teacher picked up Jin's drawing and put it in the trash. "Do it again."_

_Jin stared at her and then burst out crying._

_Adolpha blinked in confusion._

_"Excuse me," she said. The teacher turned toward five year old Adolpha. "My mommy said not to insult my teacher... but you're a poopoo head."_

_/_

Aella grabbed the teacher by the shirt collar with her ruby little hand. The woman didn't budge, so Lavey did the same and helped her sister yank the teacher down.

"Don't say anything like that to my siblings ever again," Aella growled.

"Yeah!" little Lacey cried. "Or we'll...," she tried to remember what she'd heard Aunt Winter say last week to Uncle Sun, "skin ya alive!"

-

Weiss groaned.

"Why did you call your teacher a poopoo head?!" she cried.

"Because she threw out Jin's picture," Adolpha said.

There was a beat of silence as their four parents stared at one another.

"She is a poopoo head," Yang said.

"Yang!" Weiss hissed. She glanced at a sniffling Jin before sighing. "You're right. She is a poopoo head."

"Yeah! Poopoo head!" Ruby started to chant. "Poopoo head!"

"No-"

Weiss was cut off as Yang and Blake started to chant. Aella and Lavey cheered before leading their siblings into joining in.

Finally, Weiss sighed and closed her eyes. She took a moment to think.

 _Fine_.

She joined in on the chanting.

-

Ivy, who had fallen asleep in Natalie's lap while team STYN and ATLSS talked, woke up laughing, causing her girlfriends to look at her weirdly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys seemed to like the quotes a lot, so here's a few more!
> 
> Stacey: Did you flirt with Syntheia?  
> Alea: I flirt with everyone, Stac! This isn't a surprise!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Be the bigger person.  
> Lavey: BE THE BIGGER PERSON?! I'M FIVE FEET AND BITTER! YOU BE THE BIGGER PERSON!  
> -  
> Aella: You can't lose an argument if you end it with the words "shut up, nerd."  
> Akio: Yes you can.  
> Aella: Shut up, nerd.  
> -  
> Crystal: *dropping Aella off at the airport* Have a safe flight!  
> Aella: That's not really up to me to determine.  
> Crystal: *driving away already* Okay die then.  
> -  
> Someone: Why do you get up in the morning?  
> All SEVEN (except Crystal): Crystal.  
> *that morning*  
> Crystal: *banging pots and pans as she stalks down the hallway* WAKE THE FUCK UP IT'S ALMOST TEN!  
> -  
> Lavey and Aella are looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you.  
> Jin and Akio are looks like they could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll.  
> Crystal is looks like they could kill you, could actually kill you.  
> Auburn is looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually a cinnamon roll.  
> Adolpha is just the mom friend that's yelling at her siblings trying to kill people.  
> -  
> Sun: *playfully trying to get Adolpha and Lavey to dance* Shake what ya momma gave ya!  
> Adolpha: My mothers would not like me shaking the things they gave me.  
> Sun: That's not-  
> Lavey: Momma gave me this soda. Should I shake it?  
> Sun: NO-  
> Lavey: *throws soda against ground, causing it to explode everywhere*  
> -  
> Alea: I'm so glad we're all engaged.  
> Syntheia, Stacey, Terresa, and Lexey: W-we're not... we're not engaged.  
> Alea: *gasps* I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING LAST NIGHT!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Guys, shut up, mom's calling. *picks up phone*  
> Aella and Lavey: *sex noises*  
> Crystal: AELLA, SHUT THE FUCK UP!  
> Auburn: CRYSTAL STOP CUSSING!  
> Akio: Guys, she's trying to talk to mom!  
> Jin: *leaning in real close* TELL HER I SAID HIIII!  
> -  
> Crystal: What time is it?  
> Aella: I dunno, hand me that tuba. *starts to play tuba*  
> Adolpha: WHO THE FUCK IS PLAYING THE TUBA AT 2AM?!  
> Aella: It's 2am.  
> -  
> Crystal: *enraged* I bEg YoUr PaRdOn?  
> Lavey: Then beg.  
> -  
> Jin: Small creatures are far more vicious because they have less room to hold their anger.  
> Akio: That's ridiculous, give me one example.  
> Auburn: Wasps.  
> Jin: Spiders.  
> Crystal: Terriers.  
> Aella: Lavey.  
> -  
> Auburn: *knocks on Crystal's door* I can't sleep.  
> Crystal: Well I can. *closes door*  
> Auburn: *starts to walk away sadly*  
> Crystal: *groans in frustration* FINE! Get in here!  
> -  
> Crystal: We're not twelve anymore, we should stop using the term 'butthurt.'  
> Aella: You sound fannytroubled.  
> Lavey: A little bootybothered if you ask me.  
> Akio: She's having a tooshytantrum.  
> -  
> Akio: There's seven chairs and ten children. What do you do?  
> Adolpha: Have everyone stand.  
> Jin: Bring three more chairs.  
> Aella: Have the most important ones sit.  
> Lavey: Kill three.  
> -  
> Someone: You can't get a husband by being sarcastic.  
> Crystal: *sarcastically* Oh no, whatever will I do?  
> -  
> *audible thump*  
> Adolpha: What was that?  
> Jin: My shirt fell.  
> Adolpha: Sounded heavier than a shirt.  
> Jin: Well, I was in it when it fell...  
> -  
> Adolpha: Whose turn is it to do the pep-talk.  
> Crystal: *sighing* Lavey's.  
> Lavey: Fuck shit up out there, but don't die.  
> Auburn: *wiping away a fake tear* Inspirational.  
> -  
> Aella: *to Crystal* I'm not going to sit here and listen to you accuse me of things I clearly did.  
> -


	23. The Conversation

Syntheia banged her fist against the door.

"Hey! You can't just lock me out of there while you interrogate my girlfriends!" she cried, forcing the smile that had almost grown across her face when she had said the word 'girlfriends.'

Despite having been dating the four for almost a month now, she was still perpetually excited about their relationship, and it seemed like it might never go away.

"Yes we can, we just did!" Yolanda called.

Syntheia growled and raised her fist.

"Don't break down the door, team RWBY would be really upset about that," Natalie called, smirking.

"Yeah, just let it happen. This is gonna be great," Rachel said. "If only I had-"

"Popcorn?" Natalie asked, revealing a bit of popcorn she had popped.

Rachel gasped, staring at Natalie with hearts for eyes. She wiped at tears that had formed.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Rachel asked.

"I could stand to hear it again," Natalie replied with a small, raised eyebrow.

"You two are my soulmates," Syntheia frowned in confusion as Rachel seriously got emotional about... popcorn?

"You knew I wanted popcorn for the drama!" Rachel said, wiping at her eyes.

"Of course I did," Natalie said gently, cradling her face. "You love drama."

"I do!" Rachel cried, throwing her arms around Natalie's shoulders and pulling her in for a kiss.

Natalie smirked and lifted her into the air so that Rachel didn't strain her arms, holding her around the waist and wrapping her wings around herself and Rachel so that they couldn't be seen. Clearly she didn't want anyone watching, considering she was easily embarrassed. Syntheia glanced at the couch, where Ivy was lounging.

Ivy looked up at her girlfriend for a moment with a fond smile before she became distracted again by the world around her.

She suddenly started to laugh.

"What?" Syntheia asked.

"Alea said something funny," Ivy said dismissively.

Syntheia's eyes popped.

"She _what_?! How do you know that?!" she demanded.

"She's using Morse code on the table."

"So?" Syntheia asked, frowning in confusion.

"So I can feel it," Ivy replied. "Just wish that I could say something back. She wouldn't be able to hear it."

"So whenever someone uses Morse code on something you can feel it?" Syntheia asked.

"Yeah. Rachel and Natalie do it with me all the time," Ivy replied.

"So what'd she say?!" Syntheia asked, getting back on track.

"She said 'they asked me where I see myself in five years.'"

"How's that funny?" Syntheia replied.

"Because Alea replied 'in a mirror, where else would I see myself?'"

Syntheia stared at Ivy in disbelief.

"She wouldn't...," Syntheia hesitated to think. "She would totally say that."

Ivy nodded.

Syntheia sighed before she turned to look at the door.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

-

Yolanda stared at Alea in disbelief.

"Did you just... did you just make a joke?!"

Alea winced.

"Not on purpose..."

"Is this girl for real?! You have to take this seriously if you want our blessing for you to date our teammate!" Yolanda cried.

Alea's eyes widened.

"What?! No, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make any jokes! I was just nervous!"

Alea wanted her words to come out as panicked or even pleading, but it just seemed smug.

"Why you little-"

"Please don't yell at her!" Lexey cried. "She's being serious!"

Alea tapped on her table.

 _'They're made at me. It's not my fault that I'm stupid!'_ she said in Morse code.

She didn't need Ivy to reply to know that she would tell her that she wasn't stupid. Just the idea was enough to calm her down some. Ivy had the weirdest way of doing that to her.

"Then why doesn't she wipe that smug grin off her face?" Nithin growled.

"I can't!" Alea cried, throwing up her arms in frustration and leaning back in her chair. "Sometimes I think my semblance is more trouble than it's worth."

"Don't say that," Terresa said. "Your semblance is _badass_!"

"I have an idea," Stacey said. "You see, Alea's semblance has the side effect of causing other people to perceive her differently. So how about you just close your eyes?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Are you screwing with us?" Yolanda asked.

Alea panicked. And when she says that she panicked, she meant that she _panicked_.

"I would never screw someone other than these four."

A beat of silence.

"Al!" Stacey hissed. "What's wrong with you?!"

Alea's eyes widened in horror as she seemed to realize what she had said, her face flushing deeply.

"I-I mean, not that we have before, b-but maybe one day when we're older and married then-"

"Aw, are you thinking about marrying us?" Lexey said, grinning as Alea flushed deeper. She leaned closer to the team leader. "That's so sweet, babe!"

Stacey took a deep, suffering breath.

"Based on the conversation that just occurred, can you tell that Alea is definitely not the smooth, suave persona that she seems to be, or does she need to stumble through some more of her social awkwardness before you believe us?" Stacey asked.

The three glanced at each other before Yolanda spoke.

"So wait... Alea, _the_ Alea Ajax, heart breaker, lady killer, woman of the hour, charmer of a thousand snakes," she gestured at Stacey who growled at her, "is just... just an awkward _nerd_?!"

Alea still didn't understand why people were always surprised by that, so she just nodded.

"Yeah, it's... it's pretty weird," Terresa said, shrugging.

"We had been dating her for a little while before we knew that," Lexey said. Stacey raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, we knew that she was secretly awkward and not a flirt, she told us that once and it was... it was _rough_ , but we didn't see how much of a mess she was until we finally broke her Aura after a few weeks."

"Um, actually, Ms. Nikos... or, well, she was Ms. Nikos at the time, but I guess she's Mrs. Nikos now... but anyways, the point is, she's the one that broke my Aura, not you three," Alea said. She suddenly smirked. "If I remember correctly, I broke _all three_ of your Auras."

"You see that?" Stacey asked, gesturing at Alea. "That's her trying to be smug for once. But she's not very good at it, so just ignore it. Now close your eyes and ask us the questions so we can get this over with."

After a few questions, Yolanda finally growled and glared at Alea, eyes flashing open.

"Can you stop tapping on the desk?!"

Alea frowned and flinched back.

"I'm talking to Ivy."

"Just ignore it," Stacey said with a sigh. She leaned closer and began to whisper in Alea's ear. "Listen, babe, I just got you out of looking like a creep, can you please just stop talking to Ivy for once in your life?"

Alea looked like a kicked puppy, and Stacey closed her eyes.

"Just for the next few minutes, don't tap the desk."

Alea sighed and nodded, letting them get back to the questioning.

Half an hour later, Alea stepped out of the kitchen with the biggest smirk on her face.

"Guess who gets to keep dating their girlfriend?!" Lexey cried.

"We do!" Alea cried.

Syntheia raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms against her chest.

"So you were just going to stop dating me if they said no?" she asked.

Alea instantly looked uncomfortable. She didn't to almost anyone that would see her, but Syntheia could tell. She'd been watching her closely and been able to tell when she was feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, I didn't want to upset your friends, but I love you, so I wouldn't just stop dating you, so..."

Syntheia flushed at the word 'love,' and she looked away.

How was it that every time she tried to get Alea flustered and adorable, she was the one that ended up flustered and embarrassed.

Yolanda grinned at her and Syntheia glared back.

At least _that_ was over.


	24. The Soliels

_'Is that a problem, Gorgeous?'_

"Yes! Obviously this is a problem!" Ciel cried, gesturing angrily at the door.

 _'How so?'_ Neo signed back.

"Our children at not going to use _that_ to get down the stairs when they're older!"

Ciel pointed in frustration at the slide that came through the door, leading upstairs to where they planned for their twins to live when they were older.

_'But I already made the slide.'_

"it took you an hour while I was out getting groceries, it won't take that long to dismantle, now get to it."

Neo raised an eyebrow and smirked at Ciel, putting her hands on her waist gently and pulling her close.

Neo started to tap in Morse code on her hip.

_'Do I have to, Gorgeous, or is there some way I could distract you?'_

Ciel flushed and smacked at her hands.

"Neopolitan Soliel, I am six and a half months pregnant, there's no way that you're going to be able to 'distract me' like you're talking about, so go back there and dismantle that horrible thing."

Neo sighed soundlessly, shaking her head in frustration.

Ciel pulled away from her and took a seat on a nearby chair, clearly intent on watching her wife fix this so that she didn't do anything wrong.

Neo groaned silently before grabbing her hammer and starting to work on the slide, dismantling it with a sad expression. She glanced at Ciel.

"Your pouting isn't going to work on me, Neo. You're just an idiot."

Neo sniffled.

Ciel rolled her eyes.

"You're dramatic too. Now get to work, chop chop. You've already wasted exactly forty seconds so far."

Neo rolled her eyes and did as told, Ciel watching and thinking about the past few months.

It felt like just yesterday the two had gotten pregnant, and only a week since they'd gotten married.

Maybe time just passed differently when it came to the days she spent with Neo.

The two had moved into a house of their own a few weeks ago, and they were still setting it up for the children that were on their way, and, despite what the slide seemed to suggest, Neo had been a very good mother-to-be, and she had been baby-proofing the house a lot lately.

She'd even gone to talk to Blake a few times to see how she had made her house safe for children had taken a few of her endless parenting books that had to do with pregnancy. Ciel thought it was actually pretty cute that Neo was working so hard on being a good mother.

The only reason Neo had made the slide had been so that she could try to be a fun mom. Neo had spent almost her entire life running from the law and having to join in different gangs just to stay alive. But now she had the opportunity to have a normal life (well, as close as anyone in their friend group could have to a normal life), and a real family, and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that her wife and daughters were going to be happy.

Ciel thought that it was sweet and adorable and thoughtful... but Neo was also going a bit overboard, and perhaps that could be partly attributed to Blake, who had been the one giving her all of this advice.

Looking back, maybe Ciel should have made sure that Neo didn't get too much advice from the cat faunus, but she guessed that it couldn't be stopped anymore and she just had to live with it at this point.

Neo finished dismantling what she'd made of the slide and threw the materials away before she flopped onto the ground beside Ciel with a small grin.

_'Hey. Fancy seeing you here.'_

"I live here."

_'What a coincidence, so do I!'_

"We're married."

_'Even better!'_

Ciel stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes at her absurd wife.

"What's wrong with you."

 _'Quite a lot, actually. I don't have an actual diagnosis, but the common term is,'_ Neo smirked, _'love.'_

"That was really bad. Zero out of ten, don't try to use that one again."

_'You have no taste, Gorgeous.'_

"Explains why I married you then, I suppose. I guess I should tell everyone who's been asking. Especailly my mother."

Ciel's mom had _not_ been exactly happy with how Ciel had just ran away from her school, fell in love with a criminal, dropped off the map for months, and then married said _female_ criminal without telling her.

Not to mention the fact that she was now pregnant with twins that were both related to the criminal.

_'No, you married me because I'm a thief, and I stole the greatest prize of all.'_

"And what could that be?"

_'Your heart.'_

Ciel had heard Neo say this at least twice, but it still made her blush. She rolled her eyes anyways.

"You're so cheesy."

_'You know it, and you love it.'_

Ciel smiled fondly at Neo as she leaned back against Ciel's legs, eyes falling shut.

Ciel brought her hand down and started to run it through her wife's hair.

She supposed she did love it, however much she hadn't expected it.


	25. The Favors (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just thought I'd mention, there's some more cursing in this chapter than most, but that's because...
> 
> Well, Crystal's character has a potty mouth, so... you've been warned.

"Listen, this really isn't my fault."

"How in the name of _Dust_ is this not your fault, Aella!" Crystal hissed.

"To be fair, I was making fun of Adolpha when it happened, so I wasn't really paying attention."

Crystal hesitated.

"What about?"

"What else is there to make fun of Adolpha about, Crystal? That's... that's the stupidest question I've heard all day, and I listened to Auburn asking Akio for homework help earlier!" Aella hissed.

"No way was it dumber than Auburn asking for homework help," Crystal growled.

"Yeah, yeah, it was a hyperbole or whatever," Aella said, waving her hand dismissively.

Crystal paused.

Aella turned quickly, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Oh my Dust! Did I just use a word that the great Crystal Ilia Belladonna-Schnee didn't know?!" she cried.

Crystal flushed.

"N-no!"

"A hyperbole," Aella spoke in a proud voice, speaking with a fake accent, "is an extreme exaggeration that is meant to prove a point through the use of-"

"I get it, _alright_?!" Crystal hissed. "Can we focus on how badly you messed this up?!"

"No, I think _this_ is more important, Cy, considering I just used a big word that little miss perfect didn't know," Aella said.

"I'm not little miss perfect!" Crystal hissed, her tail frizzing out. Aella burst out laughing as she looked at the tail.

Crystal flushed and grabbed her tail with both hands, pulling it in front of herself and starting to run her hand through it to make the hair stop standing upright.

"Yeah, you're not little miss perfect, I guess, considering Adolpha's still alive," Aella said, waving her hand dismissively.

"She's not perfect," Crystal said with a frown, arms crossed against her chest (her tail was still held in her hands and Aella was struggling not to laugh).

"Oh, well, she's certainly the closest thing _this_ family has to it. But I guess everyone has one flaw."

"Are you saying that _that's_ her one flaw?" Crystal asked with evident disbelief.

"Well it's certainly not great! You've seen Momma's face when it's brought up," Aella replied.

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Just open up the vents," the snow leopard Faunus said, rolling her eyes.

"Never thought you'd be the one saying that," Aella said. She grunted and popped the vent open, shoving her screwdriver back into a pocket she'd sown in her cloak.

"Dear Dust, how much crap do you have in that cloak?" she asked.

Aella shrugged, patting the countless pockets.

Crystal's eyes widened as she heard the loud crashing and banging from the cloak.

"Uh, well, I got my homework," Aella pulled out a few pieces of neatly folded paper, "my tools; ya know, a hammer, a screwdriver, the usual... I've got a water pack in here-"

"You mean a water bottle?" Crystal asked, frowning.

Aella pulled out a bag, which was filled with water.

"No."

Crystal stared at her for a long moment before she shook her head.

"What?" Aella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't believe that we're related," Crystal said, shaking her head.

"Cy, we're not just sisters, but we're first cousins. Get over yourself and get in the damn vents."

Crystal opened her mouth as if she was about to argue, but she just sighed and crouched down.

"Dear dust, how do you fit in there?!" Crystal hissed.

"Just shut up," Aella said, rolling her eyes and kicking Crystal forward.

The snow leopard Faunus grunted and stumbled into the vent system.

"You're a little bitch, ya know that?"

"If any of us are, that's Adolpha, and that's racist, now get in the vents before I have to shove you again."

Crystal grumbled and crawled into the ventilation, Aella scrambling after her with ease.

"It's not racist, Aella. We're both Faunus!" Crystal hissed.

"Yeah, but she's a wolf Faunus. That's like me calling you a kitty kitty," Aella replied with a shrug.

"I wasn't even referring to her, I was referring to you!" Crystal muttered.

"Don't try to back out of it now, Cy. You're a racist, and I'm telling our moms."

"Oh please! Mama Yang's said worse!" Crystal replied.

Aella started to snicker before she started to grow impatient.

"Hey, move it or lose it, Cy! I didn't use that favor for you to clog up the vents!" Aella growled.

"It's not my fault that it's so cramped in here! I'm not a little gremlin like you!"

"Oh please! You're not _Jin_ , don't get all high and mighty about your height!" Aella hissed.

"Yeah, but I'm not you or Lavey, either."

"HEY!"

Crystal and Aella screamed in shock at the unexpected voice.

"Just because I am _confirmed_ gremlin doesn't mean you can say anything about it, you jerk," Lavey said.

Aella peaked around Crystal to get a good look at her other sister.

"Lavey, what in the name of Dust are you doing?!" she hissed.

"Chilling."

Lavey was laying down in the vent with both hands resting behind her back, one leg kicked over the other as she lounged in place.

"Do you just... hang out in here?!" Crystal hissed.

"Eh, sometimes," Lavey said, shrugging. "Aella, you know the price."

Lavey held out her hand lazily.

"Lavey, can't you just let us pass? We're your sisters!" Aella said, giving her a fake look of innocence.

"So are Adolpha and Jin, but you couldn't pay me enough to let those two in here," Lavey said. "These fists are rated E for everyone," Crystal sighed at the other girl's use of her catchphrase, "and these pockets don't care about no blood relations, so whatcha got?"

"We don't have anything, Lavey, this is important and I have to do this to get out of a favor with Aella, so just move your ass and let us by," Crystal said.

Lavey's smirk grew.

"Oh Crystal, poor, sweet, dumb Crystal," Lavey said slowly, shaking her head.

"What?!" Crystal hissed.

"You just gave away your hand, baby girl. The price just doubled."

Crystal gaped at Lavey, who just snickered.

"Dang it, Cy!" Aella hissed. "You're the one with the favor, you're paying!"

"What do you want, Lav?" Crystal gritted out.

Lavey looked up at her nails with disinterest. The casual observer would have wondered why the pair didn't just push past her, but Crystal and Aella knew _far_ better than to do something like that. They'd learned their lesson **several** years ago, considering Jin and Adolpha were the main ones that stood a chance against their youngest sister.

"I _was_ going to say one favor," Crystal's eyes widened comically, "but now... I want three."

"What?!" Crystal shrieked. "You just said it doubled!"

"Price tripled while you were whining about it. I want three favors, and two of them have to be from you, Cy."

"Why me?!"

"Cause nobody suspects you."

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"So two from me and one from Aella?"

Lavey smirked.

"No. The last one has to be... Adolpha's."

"WHAT?!"

"Keep your voice down in my vents, man," Lavey said, rolling her eyes.

" **I** don't even have an Adolpha favor saved up, how am I supposed to get you one?!"

"I don't know, and I don't **need** to know, cause I'm not the one that has to go get it. So are you going to get me those favors, or am I going to have to throw you two out of these vents myself?" Lavey asked, shrugging as if she didn't care either way.

Crystal glanced at Aella, who gave her a raised eyebrow that seemed to say "you're the one returning a favor, now hurry up and get us through here."

Crystal gritted her teeth.

"Fine. FINE! I'll get you those favors, now let us through."

Lavey smirked and rolled to the side, pressing her body up against the wall of the vent. She barely took up any room.

"You better, or we've got trouble. Now go have your fun," Lavey said, smirking.

"You're the worst," Crystal growled.

Lavey gave her a wink.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

"Was... was that a racist joke?!" Crystal hissed.

Lavey raised an eyebrow.

"You tell me."

Crystal hesitated, thinking.

"Cat got your tongue?" Lavey asked.

"You're an ass."

"You're the Faunus, not me, now move it."

Crystal snorted, unable to hold back her laughter anymore.

"You're so weird, Lav."

"I do try! Now good luck, and keep Aella out of trouble, I need her for my plans later."

The two crawled past Lavey.

Crystal wasn't sure if they would have been able to get past Lavey without giving her the favors. Her bark was _always_ worse than her bite, but she was also chaotic as all things, so it was hard to tell with her.

Despite Lavey's... _everything_ , she might have been the most protective sibling out of the seven of them. She could say whatever she wanted to her sisters and brothers, but if _anyone_ had made that joke to Crystal about being a Faunus...

Lavey would have thrown them off a cliff.

"Ugh, does she do that every time?" Crystal asked.

Aella shrugged.

"Not usually. There's enough favors between the pair of us that we don't really keep track of it anymore and just do whatever the other needs. But now that _you're_ coming through, she had an opportunity to get a more... **rare** find."

Crystal whipped her head around.

"Did you know that she would do this when we came in here?!" Crystal hissed.

Aella smirked.

"It was a possibility that I considered, yes."

"You didn't tell me that!" Crystal growled.

"Yeah, but you owed me a favor, so it doesn't really matter what I tell you, you still gotta do it."

Crystal groaned.

She didn't like owing favors... but they were always a necessary price to pay to _get_ favors. And favors was the lifeblood of the economy between the seven of them.

If you needed some help with your homework, you needed to use a favor. If you wanted safe transport through the vents to get somewhere without their mothers knowing. You had to use a favor.

There were countless things that a favor could get you in the Belladonna-Schnee family, and they were priceless at this point. Some, however, were more rare than others, and some had to even be traded for.

Aella favors were a dime a dozen, Auburn favors were a bit less common than Aella (considering you could get as many as you wanted from Akio and Adolpha after they helped him with homework), Akio favors weren't common but they weren't extra rare either...

But this was where you got to the heavy hitter favors. Crystal favors were in the rare category, considering she tried very hard not to get them handed out, but she wasn't too good about it. Jin favors were rare too, more so than Crystal's, and she mostly gave them out to people that were nice to her and Adolpha, who hardly handed them out. Lavey's favors were the second most rare. Aella had a few of them, but she had been exaggerating earlier, and Crystal had known it. Lavey's favors were few and far between, exotic even, considering she was what they referred to as... the collector.

Lavey had countless favors that she had collected over the years, and she was constantly trading them with others... for a price. She had even set a numerical value for each, which she kept on a white board that she left in the vents. She also had a notebook that she kept on her person at all times to keep count of her favors that she had to trade.

After Lavey favors...

Then came the legendary favors, which came solely from Adolpha, who hardly ever had to get help, and tried even harder than Crystal to make sure that she didn't have to hand them out. Adolpha seemed to think that, as the mediator and the eldest child, it was rather unfair to give any of her siblings her favors.

Despite that, Lavey had a few of her favors. Nobody knew how many, but Lavey had them written in her notebook.

Many wondered if, perhaps, Adolpha gave favors to Lavey so as to make sure that there were some that could be shared with the siblings. That was just skepticism, though.

"Can't you just use a favor of Lavey's to get out of this?" Crystal asked.

"You know as well as I do that a favor can't be used to counteract a favor. We decided this in the great pillow war six years ago."

"Yeah, yeah...," Crystal opened up the vent. "There. I got you through the vents. Wait five minutes, and I'll have all four moms distracted. Then-"

"Then I get out of trouble with no consequences! Thanks for teaching me that my actions have no repurcussions, sis!"

Crystal glowered at her, causing Aella to laugh.

"You know I'm messing with you! Besides, a favor for Auburn is what started all of this. Now get going, and make sure to get those favors to Lavey!" Aella said, shoving Crystal toward the exit while she started to lounge in the airvents.

Crystal groaned. This was going to be difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lavey: What can I say? I'm charming and irresponsible.  
> Crystal: You mean irresistible?  
> Lavey: No.  
> -  
> Crystal: On our side, Akio, we have facts, science, and reason. Lavey and Aella just have fear-mongering and lies.  
> Akio:  
> Crystal: Oh my dust, they're gonna win, aren't they?  
> -  
> Crystal: My sarcasm has reached dangerous levels. I don't even know if I'm kidding or not.  
> -  
> Lavey: Is it still murder if I give them a heads up?  
> Crystal: *not looking up* That's called a threat.  
> -  
> Lavey: Don't make me strangle you.  
> Akio: You're not tall enough.  
> Lavey: You've sunk low enough for me to reach.  
> -  
> Adolpha: Can we please not base our decisions off of what does and doesn't happen on episodes of scooby-doo?  
> -  
> Weiss is the chancla mom. That's it. That's the joke. It's not even funny, it's just true.  
> -  
> Adolpha: And, perhaps, the real victory was the peace we've found along the way.  
> Aella: Screw that, I want gold!  
> Lavey: Or weapons!  
> Crystal: Gold... DOES sound intriguing...  
> -  
> Lavey: Are you telling me that you almost threatened someone WITHOUT me?! You can't spell treacherous without US!  
> -  
> Crystal: *to Lavey and Aella* You two are such brutes! You can't just attack som-  
> Lavey: They insulted Jin.  
> Aella: AND Auburn!  
> Crystal:  
> Crystal: Where's my damn sword-  
> -  
> Aella: Here she goes again. And by she, I mean me.  
> -  
> Jin: *reading a fortune cookie* If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world stays the same.  
> Lavey: *with a mouth full of takeout* Kill two.  
> Crystal: Please, Lavey! If you're going to do such a thing, at least commit. Kill ALL of them.  
> Lavey: *slams fist against table* YES!  
> Jin: THAT WAS NOT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH WHAT LAVEY SAID!  
> -  
> Aella: Dolpha?  
> Adolpha: Hmm?  
> Aella: Can a person breathe inside a washing machine?  
> Adolpha:  
> Aella:  
> Adolpha: Where's Lavey?  
> Aella:... participating in a scientific experiment?  
> Adolpha: FOR THE LOVE OF DUST-  
> -  
> Lavey: I can't do this. It goes against my moral compass.  
> Crystal: Your moral compass is a roulette wheel, so EXCUSE ME if I don't take you seriously.  
> -  
> Lavey: Today's lesson is about trust. Auburn, fall backward.  
> Auburn: *falls backward, but nobody catches him*  
> Lavey: The lesson is trust no one.  
> Crystal: *monotone* Lav, last week you saved his life.  
> Lavey: I SAID TRUST NO ONE!  
> -  
> Lavey: Come, little ones, it's time to steal the souls of the innocent!  
> Crystal: What the fuck does that even mean???  
> Adolpha: *sighing* That's what she calls sparring nowadays...  
> -  
> Crystal: *whispereing so as to avoid bothering other shoppers* Would you like anything else?  
> Lavey: *at full volume* I'M ALWAYS A SLUT FOR DORRITOS!  
> -  
> Lavey: If you slit my throat tonight... I'm gonna have a hard time forgiving you.  
> Jin: *staring up at the ceiling with an existential crisis* W... why do you always say that before we fall asleep?  
> Lavey: *shrugging* I dunno, I like to spice it up sometimes.  
> -  
> Aella: Am I right, Cy?  
> Crystal: I wasn't listening, but I'm almost completely certain that you weren't  
> -  
> Jin: I love making short jokes. They go right over everyone's heads. *laughs*  
> Lavey: You won't be laughing when I steal your kneecaps!  
> -  
> Aella: Sometimes Crystal is like "what do you think you're doing?!"  
> Lavey: But that just means stop.  
> -
> 
> Quick question: Anyone got a favorite kid yet?


	26. The Favors (2/2)

Crystal growled to herself, falling against the wall. She'd had to bribe Auburn into distracted their mothers, considering Crystal herself had other business to attend to...

Business in the form of favors that she had to get.

_Stupid Lavey. Getting through the vents is **not** worth three Dust damned favors! **Especially** an Adopha favor! Dust, I would have wanted one of those for myself!_

But Crystal had to do whatever she needed to get that favor, which meant that the next time she needed it, she wouldn't be able to use the favors she had to get it.

Which meant... she would have to get one from Lavey. And... it might even be the same exact favor.

Crystal's eyes widened in shock, and she could almost hear Lavey laughing in her head.

That girl was always thinking five steps ahead. She must have known from the moment that Aella mentioned she needed a favor from Crystal that she was going to get a favor from Adolpha for it.

 _Dust... that woman is a menace_ , Crystal thought, shaking her head.

In the back of her mind, a memory replayed of Lavey and herself at school yesterday.

_/_

_"Hey, kitty kitty! Over here! I've got some **tuna**! I hear you like that!" a classmate called. Crystal referred to them as Asshole in her head, not caring enough to give him a name._

_Crystal winced at the words, her tail twitching and pulling toward her chest. She spun to defend herself, but Lavey set a hand on her shoulder calmingly._

_"Hey, sis, I got this one. How about you just go have a seat?"_

_"Does it cost a favor?" Crystal asked with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow._

_Lavey looked up at her with a crooked grin, silver eyes glistening in excitement._

_"You know that it doesn't, now move it or lose it, Cy."_

_Crystal pretended that she was still walking toward their table for lunch, but she paused and watched Lavey._

_"Excuse me, oh Dust, I don't know your name... but I wouldn't be surprised if you don't have one. I mean, I don't name the ants I crush under my feet. Anyways, I'm going to give you one chance to take back what you just said to my sister."_

_"Or what?"_

_"Oh there's no way out of this delicate situation you find yourself in," Lavey said with a shrug, slamming one fist into the palm of her hand. "You're going to say you're sorry, and I'm going to beat the living shit out of you, and you're going to go crying home to your mother like the sniveling little snot you are. I just thought you could make this a little more fun for me."_

_Lavey smirked._

_"But I guess that was stupid. This is already going to be fun enough."_

_Lavey activated her semblance. There was no physical sign of it, not like when Mama Yang did it, but Crystal could tell by the way she held herself, with more certainty than she typically did... which was saying something._

_Lavey was a triplet, like Crystal herself, which meant that Yang wasn't one of her biological mothers, but she was certainly still related to her, and, more importantly, their grandfather, Taiyang._

_That was the only explanation that the Belladonna-Schnees had to why Lavey's semblance was so familiar._

_It wasn't like Crystal's, a copy of a mother's, but it definitely was akin to Yang's._

_As the other student threw a punch, Lavey's hand shot up and caught the fist. She grinned and squeezed her hand until the other student cried out in pain._

_Lavey brought up her foot and reached around the other student's body, grabbing him behind the back and tugging him toward her._

_Lavey laughed as he stumbled, and she slammed her boot into his back, making him cry out._

_Lavey then shot forward with inhuman speed, slamming her elbow down and hitting him in the back. His Aura broke immediately._

_Lavey didn't seem to care, because she broke her foot back one last time and hit him in the chest with her boot. Crystal wondered if she had heard a crunch, or if that was just wishful thinking._

_Lavey seemed as if she was considering doing more, but she decided against kicking him again. Instead, Lavey leaned down and put her face within inches of his._

_"Hey, asshole," Lavey said loud enough for the silent cafeteria to hear her, "next time you think about screwing with my sister, or, Dust, **any** of my siblings, remember that there's several things that I can cut off next time."_

_With that, Lavey pulled back and dashed toward Crystal at full speed, running faster than any normal human could._

_"Thanks," Crystal said, bumping her shoulder against Lavey's own._

_"Eh, it's not a big deal."_

_"Need a recharge?"  
_

_"I never say no to getting hit in the face."_

_Crystal rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple from Auburn's lunch, tossing it at Lavey._

_She caught it, grinning._

_"So what, you're gonna recharge my semblance by playing catch?"_

_"Easier than punching you."_

_"And lamer," Lavey said, rolling her eyes._

_Unlike Yang, Lavey didn't have to take damage to get energy for her semblance. She absorbed kinetic energy, and then could use it for all sorts of purposes that required that sort of energy. She could use it to run faster, punch harder, throw farther, all sorts of things. But, unlike Yang, she couldn't double any attacks that struck her, instead having to just charge up the old fashioned way._

_"Just punch me, wuss," Lavey said._

_"I'm not punching you, you just beat someone up for me, you jerk!"_

_Lavey snorted._

_"Fine, fine, whatever...," Lavey gave her a small smile, not a smirk, not a grin. "But you know I'd kick anyone's butt for you, right?"_

_Crystal bumped her shoulder with her own._

_"Course I do, and I intend to take full advantage of that."_

_Lavey rolled her eyes._

_/_

Crystal shook her head and let out a quiet laugh. She just needed to get that damn favor. Where could she get one from Adolpha, though?

As if to answer her question, Jin walked right past Crystal, which caused Crystal's tail to stand up straight behind her.

"Jin! Hey, Jin! Wait up!" she called.

"Hmm? Oh, hey, Cy, what's up?"

"I need a favor."

Jin's happy demeanor changed immediately, her arms crossing. Most families meant that they needed someone else to open their soda can.

Their family meant business.

"Whose?"

"Adolpha's."

"You know I can't just _give_ you one of those. Even I don't have that many."

"You have to have a few extras."

"You can never have extra favors."

"Jin, I need one fast, I can't go for a hunt. I need you, Jinny. You're my older sister, you're supposed to protect me."

"You can't play the puppy eyes card on me, it won't work."

"Fine, but I seriously need one."

"What did you get yourself into, Cy?"

"I owed Aella a favor," Jin groaned, "and then we had to pass through the vents, and-"

"Lavey took advantage."

Crystal nodded.

"What all does she want from you."

"Two of my favors and one Adolpha."

"That's extortion."

"I know, but I don't have a choice."

Jin ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Cy, I _can't_ give these away! It's like flooding the economy! If Lavey gets too many, she'll become too powerful!"

"How many does she have?"

"At least half a dozen, maybe ten."

Crystal whistled.

"That's... that's impressive."

"It's _insane_! I have no idea how she got any!"

"Are they forged?"

"You know she can't forge any. Not only do we have to have signatures, but Adolpha has a sign that she puts on every single one. Not to mention-"

"The pillow war conventions, I know, I know... are you sure she has that many?"

"Adolpha's the only one that knows exactly how many she has, but it has to be between six and ten."

"Two is too many."

"I know that, Cy!"

Crystal ran a hand through her hair.

"But I seriously need it, Jin. What can I do to get one?"

"I don't have that many."

"What do I need to do?"

Jin looked away.

"You know the going price for a Dolpha favor."

Crystal winced.

"Which one?"

"You _know_ the one, Cy."

Crystal groaned and shook her head.

"You want the variety pack?"

Jin nodded.

The variety pack consisted of ten Aella favors, seven Auburn ones, five Akio favors, three Crystal ones, two Jins, and a Lavey.

"You can't want the Jins," Crystal said, arms crossed.

"I want them."

"Just... just to throw them out?!"

"I don't want them out there."

"I don't have that many, Jin!"

"Don't lie to me."

Crystal groaned sufferingly.

"All this for one damn favor... I'm going to kill Aella..."

Crystal pulled out her secure favor wallet, flicking through the favors and putting them in her hand. She finally turned to her checks, signing the favors of her own. She got rid of _one_ favor and had to make _three more_!

At least they were Jin's property.

For now at least, that is...

"I hope you know that this bankrupts me."

"I do."

Crystal glared at Jin before passing over her favors.

Jin then passed over the Adolpha paper, which Crystal shoved into her pocket.

"You know that Lavey's not the only one that's extorting me right now, right?"

"We all play the game, Cy."

Jin organized the favors before putting them in her wallet.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Wish I could say the same," Crystal growled, turning on her heel and stalking toward the vent, crawling inside.

She scramble for a few moments before she found Lavey.

"Here's your damn favors," she growled, passing over two of her own and the single one of Adolpha's.

"You know," Lavey said, not taking the papers, "I've heard through the rumor mill, that _someone_ might have been amassing a group of my own favors."

"What of it?" Crystal asked, still trying to pass the favors over to the lounging Lavey.

"No need to be so snippy, I might just be throwing you a life line here, missy, so shut up and listen."

Crystal crossed her arms and watched her younger sister.

"As I was saying, there's been some rumors that you might just be trying to get something important from me by getting so many of _my own_ favors. Tell me what it is you're trying to achieve."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because other than my favors, you truly are bankrupt."

Crystal cursed under her breath.

"Fine. I wanted to get some stockpiled just in case..."

"In case what?"

Crystal flushed.

"In case _what_ , Cy?"

"You change your mind."

Lavey frowned, pushing herself up to a sitting position and reaching one hand out to put on Crystal's leg.

"About what?"

Crystal muttered under her breath.

Lavey prompted her to say it again.

"About protecting me."

Lavey immediately moved closer.

"What?! Of course I'd never... I'd never change my mind about that, Cy."

"I-I know, but sometimes... you can be a little bit... cut throat."

Lavey's face changed from the typical smirk to a bit worried, one hand reaching up to rub the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Cy, that's just... that's just who I am, alright? But I'm not... I'm not going to just stop protecting you! I'm _always_ here for you! In fact...," Lavey shook her head, pulling back. "Never mind."

"What?" Crystal pushed, leaning a bit closer.

Lavey blushed.

"I-I don't know, I guess I just... I _know_ that you're older than me and all, but, like... I always thought of you as... my little sister. I don't know, that's stupid, I guess. I just thought that..."

Crystal flushed slightly, starting to fiddle with her thumbs.

"It's not stupid," she muttered.

Lavey glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, I came out of Mom first, but... you were _always_ my big sister. You're always protecting me and making sure that I'm happy and... I guess that what I was really worried about was that one day... you'd realize that all of that was _my_ job, as the older sister..."

Lavey laughed and shook her head.

"Hey, I love you, you're, apparently, my little sister, but that's... stupid," Crystal raised an eyebrow, "I mean, this whole family is built on not following traditional family roles, so of course the younger sister can be the big sister."

Crystal looked away and wiped at her eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't have been so worried. Now I've just got, like, a baker's dozen of your favors for no reason. Maybe I could trade them... I _did_ just bankrupt the rest of my favors with the trade for Adolpha's... speaking of, here you go," Crystal passed the three favors over to Lavey.

Lavey snorted, causing Crystal to raise an eyebrow and look back at her in confusion when she didn't take the favor cards.

"You think I wanted _another_ favor from Adolpha? **Please**! I already have fifteen of those! At some point, it's too much."

"You have **fifteen**?!"

Lavey pulled out her favor booklet.

"Read 'em and weep, Cy! Anyways, that's for you."

"It's _what_?!"

"The favor's for you, dummy. I knew that Jin wouldn't give you one unless you said that you owed me something. And by the way... that trade you just made with Jin? Well, it was a poor decision on her part, considering Adolpha favor prices are about to skyrocket."

"What? Why?"

Lavey smirked and held one finger up to her lips to shush her.

"Because a special someone might just need to inflate some prices for their only little sister. Now, as for those," Lavey leaned forward and ripped the two favors that Crystal had made. "There, that's better! Now take one of these for your trouble."

Lavey tossed a favor toward Crystal, who caught it, looking down with a small frown.

It was one of Lavey's.

"Now get moving before Mom starts wondering where you are."

Crystal held back a sniffle, blinking quickly.

"Oh, yeah, right, uh... see you at dinner."

"You too."

Crystal crawled out of the vents slowly.

Maybe Lavey wasn't as bad as she had thought earlier...

Crystal: You're the bad guy in someone's story.  
Lavey: *snorts* Yeah, my story.  
-  
Aella: OH NO, I SCREWED UP!  
Crystal, narrating: She said, with surprise in her voice for reasons unknown, considering this had happened before, countless times.  
-  
Akio: What's a five letter word for diappointment?  
Crystal: *not looking up* Aella.  
Akio:... *surprised gasp* It fits!  
-  
Adolpha: You're about to die, do you really want your last words to be sarcastic?!  
Crystal: *sarcastically* Nooo!  
-  
Crystal: I haven't spoken to that person in over five years. What they did was unforgivable.  
Lavey: You don't remember, do you?  
Crystal: They know what they did.  
-  
Lavey: Don't worry, I have permission.  
Adolpha: This is just a piece of paper that says "I do what I want."  
Lavey: Thanks bye!  
-  
Auburn: You know what strength is? Forgiving someone who isn't sorry.  
Crystal: Not to be dramatic, but I would literally rather die.  
-  
Adolpha: WHY WOULD YOU FILL THE FIRST AID KIT WITH CHEETOS?!  
Aella: *bleeding out* It was funny at the time.  
-  
Lavey: People are always asking me "are you a morning person, are you a night person," like buddy I'm barely a person.  
-  
Lavey: I'm a reverse necromancer.  
Crystal: I-Isn't that just a murderer?  
-  
Akio: Isn't it weird that we pay money to see other people?  
Aella: You mean prostitution, movies, or airplane tickets?  
Akio:... glasses...  
-  
Lavey: Cy, we tried things your way.  
Crystal: NO WE DIDN'T!  
Lavey: I did in my head, and it didn't work.  
-  
Aella: What-  
Adolpha: Don't say a word...  
Aella: Fergalicious.  
Adolpha: I said don't say a word!  
Aella: So last Friday when I tried to play it in scrabble, it wasn't a word, but now that it's convenient for you, it is?!  
Adolpha: JUST SHUT UP!  
-  
Aella: I owe you my life.  
Crystal: No thanks, I've seen it and I'm not impressed.  
-  
Lavey: Someone's going to die.  
Jin: Of fun!  
Aella: *flying past* OF MURDERRRR!  
-  
Lavey: I was born for the politcs of favors. I have great hair and I love lying.  
-  
Aella: You played me like a fiddle.  
Lavey: Nah, those are hard to play. I played you like the cheap kazoo you are.  
-  
Adopha: So since our family can't use mistletoe in the house after.... LAST YEAR, we're going to use it, but instead of kissing, you have to fight whoever's under it.  
Lavey: MISTLEFOE!  
Everyone else: NO LAVEY!  
-  
Adolpha: Cy, you gotta apologize to Aella.  
Crystal: FINE! Unfuck you, or whatever.  
-  
Lavey: Sometimes I wish I'd listened more to what our moms told us.  
Adolpha: Why? What'd they tell you?  
Lavey: I don't know. I didn't listen  
-  
This chapter:  
Lavey: You know I love you and all-  
Crystal: *crying from joy* you do?!  
Lavey: DUH!  
-  
Adolpha: We're going to get out of this situation like we do every situation.  
Crystal: Logic?  
Adolpha: Don't be stupid. We're going to make a new situation of stupidity to cancel this one out.  
-  
Aella: Do you think I could fit fifteen marshmallows in my mouth?  
Crystal: You're a hazard to society.  
Lavey: And a coward. Do twenty.  
-  
Aella: I've done a lot of dumb stuff.  
Akio: I've witnessed a lot of dumb stuff.  
Lavey: I've recorded a lot of dumb stuff.  
Adolpha: I TRIED TO STOP YOU FROM DOING THE DUMB STUFF!  
-  
Yang: have you seen my son Auburn?! He's about this tall, clearly gay but we haven't have the talk yet!  
-  
Aella: Crystal gave me a get better soon card.  
Auburn: That's nice!  
Aella: No it's not. I'm not sick, she just thinks I should do better.  
-  
Aella: Say yes to drugs!  
Adolpha: Say no to drugs!  
Lavey: It doesn't matter WHAT you say to drugs! If you're talking to drugs, you're already high.  
-  
Adolpha: *to all her siblings* Don't bring a gun to a knife fight. Don't bring a knife to a knife fight. Just... just stop going to knife fights! Why do you love them so much?!  
-  
Weiss: What do you have?  
Lavey: *sprinting by* A KNIFE!  
Weiss: NO!  
-  
Jin: We should go to the fortune telling booth at the fair!  
Adolpha: Am I a joke to you?  
-  
Adolpha: You have to treat everybody's views with equal respect.  
Lavey: WHAT?! EVEN IDIOTS?!  
-  
Lavey: Every store sells weapons if you're creative enough.  
-  
Lavey: I'm not out of control, I'm a law abiding individual.  
Adolpha: Oh yeah? Name one law.  
Lavey:... Don't kill people?  
Adolpha: Okay, that one's on me, I set the bar too low.  
-  
Lavey: Do I look like the kind of woman that dies?  
-  
Jin: You see the worst in people all the time!  
Lavey: Because people are the worst!  
-  
Aella: What if I put coffee in my cereal instead of milk?  
Blake: *picking up coffee pot as she walks by* What if you don't?  
-  
Aella: Mark the day, Akio. May 18th.  
Akio: Oh sis we are WELL into October!  
Aella: Really?  
-  
Aella: When people tell me "you're going to regret this in the morning" I sleep until noon cause I'm a problem solver.  
-  
Crystal: Want some leftovers?  
Lavey and Jin: What're those?  
Crystal: D.. do you not have leftovers???  
Lavey and Jin: No, because we're not quitters!


	27. The DVD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Submitted by: Frosted_Milk
> 
> Lavey:*to Adolpha and Aella* while you two argue morality I'm going to hide this body in the usual spot.

Akio let out a grunt as he was shoved to the side.

"Turn off your stupid game, Ak," Crystal said, plopping onto the couch.

Akio rolled his eyes, teleporting to the television and turning it off before teleporting back to the couch.

Before he had the chance to sit down, a form dropped from the sky. Akio would have expected Aella to be the one who fell from above, considering she could fly, but he was surprised to find that Lavey had fallen from the ceiling.

She landed on the couch with a _thwump_.

Akio glanced up and saw that there was a vent above them. He rolled his eyes.

"Thought you were trying to be secretive, Lav."

Lavey rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh please, they know I live in the vents. You have a daughter as small and mischievous as me, and you _have_ to know that I'm a vent person."

"Is that a group of people now? Vent people?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched her sister.

"Yeah, my people, Cy!" Lavey replied, stretching a bit before sprawling out on the couch. She might be the tiniest sibling, but she somehow managed to take up the most room when they had movie nights.

"Move your butt," Aella called.

Lavey picked her legs up, and Aella flew over, flopping onto the couch. Lavey unceremoniously let her legs fall back onto the other girl's lap.

"Why do you always take up an entire couch?" Crystal asked sufferingly.

Lavey stretched, a smirk growing across her lips.

"I have _absolutely_ no idea what you're talking about."

Lavey's head flopped backward and landed on top of Crystal.

The faunus rolled her eyes, but a small smile grew across her face, one hand reaching down to set itself on Lavey's head, running through her crimson red hair.

"What're ya doing up there, Snowy?" Lavey asked.

"Still racist," Crystal said with an eye roll.

"I dunno, you're the one petting me."

Crystal snorted out a laugh, holding one hand up to cover her mouth.

Her tail started to gently flick beside her, almost wagging.

Lavey made a spluttering sound, bringing her hands up to cover her face.

"Hey, hey, I know I was giving you crap, but don't get fur in my mouth!" she cried, Crystal's tail in her face.

Crystal shook her head with an eye roll, moving her tail a bit to the side and letting it fall on top of Lavey's stomach.

Akio watched the three on the couch before rolling his eyes. He guessed that he wasn't going to get a seat on that couch today...

He teleported himself over to the nearest chair and fell on top of it, smiling to himself. He might just get some room to himself...

Just as he thought that, a figure hurtled over the back of the chair before landing beside Akio.

"Hey, bro!" Auburn said, reaching over and bumping Akio with his elbow.

Akio rolled his eyes at his only brother, knowing that Auburn probably wanted a little bit of time with the only other guy in the house, considering they had four mothers and five sisters, which made it understandably difficult for the two boys.

"Hey, Lav, mind making a little room?" Adolpha asked, giving her youngest sister a small smile.

Lavey let out a huff before arching her back just slightly.

Adolpha took the opportunity immediately, knowing it was either this or being forced to lay on the ground or on the couch beside her mothers, which was always... uncomfortable to say the least.

Adolpha took a seat beneath Lav, Jin joining her after a moment.

"Ya know, you four make a pretty good chair," Lavey said, stretching a bit.

Crystal rolled her eyes, leaning a bit to the side and letting her tail land back on Lavey's chest. Her own head flopped to the side and fell against Adolpha's shoulder. Adolpha wrapped her arm around Crystal, pulling her closer and running her hand up and down her arm.

"Are you trying to make me do the thing?" Crystal asked.

Adolpha glanced at her with a small, almost guilty smile.

"If I am?"

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"What's with you six and it?" she muttered.

"It's calming!" Aella called, crossing her arms defensively against her chest.

"Fine!" Crystal said with an eye roll. After a moment, her chest started to rumble in a familiar fashion, her purr carrying over to all four of her sisters.

"Thanks, Cy," Adolpha said, putting her head on top of Crystal's own. "Anybody know what movie we're watching?"

Lavey smirked up at her.

"Oh, I do. I _definitely_ do."

"Wait, is it **your** turn to pick?" Crystal asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your tail in a bunch, I didn't pick a horror movie... this time."

Crystal relaxed just slightly, her tail slumping against Lavey again.

"But it's sure to have a lot of yelling and cussing."

Crystal raised an eyebrow.

"I'm intrigued," she said.

"I knew you would be."

"Can you be a little more specific?" Aella called.

"You'll see," Lavey said, still smirking.

Just a few moments later, four figures walked into the room.

"Lavey, good to see that you're not in the vents tonight," Weiss said with a raised eyebrow.

"Mom, I must say, it's quite odd that you would expect me to be in the ventilation system. What sort of child does such a thing?" Lavey replied, still smirking to herself.

"A little gremlin, that's the kind of child that would do that," Yang replied, grinning back at her daughter.

"Can't you three be civilized for an hour?" Ruby asked with a laugh and an eye roll.

"I don't know, can you keep your hands off our mothers for the length of one movie this time?" Crystal called back.

Ruby flushed slightly and Weiss burst out laughing.

Ruby smacked her arm, and Weiss quickly forced herself to regain her composure.

"Crystal, don't say things like that to your mother," Weiss said. She fought a grin. "They're not funny."

"Yes, not funny, that's why you were laughing."

Blake rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"Lav, dear, what are we watching tonight?" the cat faunus asked.

"A documentary."

"Hey, what happened to you, Lavey. Did you switch bodies with Akio?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope!" Lavey called, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a DVD, which she tossed at her mother.

Yang caught it before she promptly let it fall to the ground.

"We're not watching that."

"We decided four years ago in the great sleeping bag catastrophe that there would be no vetoes to movie night choices," Lavey said instantly.

"That does not apply to," Yang gestured her arms angrily, "THIS!"

"What is it?" Weiss asked, stooping down and grabbing the movie. She instantly glowered.

"There is no way that we're watching it."

"Lav, what'd you pick?" Aella called.

"A documentary."

"About?" Crystal prompted.

"The war."

"No way!" Auburn cried. "Is that _the_ documentary?!"

"The one and only," Lavey said with a smirk.

"That's badass!" Crystal hissed.

"CRYSTAL!" Weiss snapped. "Don't use that word!"

Crystal winced.

"Right, sorry, Mom," she turned and leaned down to whisper in Lavey's ear. "This is badass, Lav! Where did you find that?"

"It was difficult. After Aunt Winter sued them, they weren't allowed to make any more copies, I had to find it online."

"How long did you look for that?" Adolpha asked, her ears perked up in excitement.

"Does it matter? It's totally worth it," Lavey said.

Adolpha grinned, and Lavey smirked at her.

"Is little miss perfect excited about making fun of her parents and relatives?" Lavey said playfully.

"First, stop calling me that. Second, of course I am!" Adolpha replied.

Lavey picked up her foot and nudged Adolpha.

"I _knew_ there had to be some fun in you somewhere!" she cried.

Adolpha rolled her eyes.

"More annoyance at the moment," she replied, shoving Lavey's foot out of her face.

"Too bad."

"There's no way we're watching this again. Once was enough," Ruby said, crossing her arm as she sat on the free couch. She grabbed Blake's hand and tugged her down to join her.

The cat faunus let out a grunt of surprise as Ruby curled up at her side, putting her head on her wife's shoulder.

"See? Can't keep their hands off each other," Aella said, rolling her eyes.

"Lavey's laying in your lap."

"But she's not my wife," Aella pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Gross," Lavey said, sticking her tongue out of her mouth in disgust. "And we are _definitely_ watching that documentary because it's my turn to pick, and there's no vetoing."

Weiss sighed.

"What do you want?"

"Why mother, what are you talking about? I want to watch the movie."

"What do you _want,_ Lavey? You want some of those weird favors that you always trade for?"

Lavey sprawled out in their laps, one hand bringing itself up to run down her face.

"Oh, **now** you're speaking my language," Lavey said, rubbing her palms together. "Well, well, well... what do I want... first of all, I want a sleepover with the Soleil twins," Adolpha made a sound of shock, looking down at her sister with a frown. "Secondly... I want a trip to the water park," Auburn jumped at Lavey's words, staring at her with wide eyes. "Also, I want Aunt Ivy and Alea to watch us the next time you have your date night."

"How many demands do you have, Lavey?" Weiss asked darkly.

"As many as I want, considering I'm doing you a favor," Lavey replied.

Weiss looked down at the DVD as if considering stomping it with her foot.

"Don't bother, it's a decoy, the real one's in the vents where only I can reach. And my final demand... is that you finally get Jin that bicycle that she's been asking for. You know that she's the slowest of the group, and she needs a way to keep up. _If_ you do all that, then I suppose I could throw out the DVD and we can never watch it."

"This is extortion," Weiss growled.

"Aunt Stacey taught me everything I know."

Weiss glared at her, and Lavey just smirked back at her.

"So, are you going to meet my demands, or am I going to have to go back into the vents to find the DVD again?" Lavey asked.

Weiss ground her teeth together.

"Fine! Fine! But why do you want all of that?!" she cried, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Lavey's smirk widened.

"What can I say? I'm a woman of many interests."

"Where's the DVD?" Weiss demanded.

"In the cupboard above the sink."

The four members of team RWBY left the room to get it together, clearly not trusting that Lavey had made it easy to access.

"Are you really going to let them destroy the only copy of that DVD?" Aella hissed.

Lavey snorted.

"What? Of course not! I searched for _hours_ , but I never found a DVD. I just forged the cover and stuck a DVD in it! Worked like a charm, though. I got everything I bargained for, didn't I?"

"But you didn't even _want_ anything you asked for," Akio called.

"Eh, I got it though," Lavey said. "It was good practice for blackmail, wasn't it?

"Why'd you do it, Lav?" Adolpha asked. It was clear from her voice that she wouldn't take 'I felt like it' as an excuse.

"Because you love those sleepovers, don't deny it, Auburn's been angling to get the water park for months, and Jin's been trying to get a bike for even longer."

"Then why did you ask for Aunt Ivy and Alea?" Crystal asked.

Lavey shrugged.

"I dunno, they're cool. I'm whimsical and unpredictable, I don't have a reason for everything I do," Lavey replied, smirking at her sister.

"I think you _do_ have a reason for everything," Crystal said. "You're way too good at strategy to do things for no reason."

"You think _way_ too highly of me, Cy. Maybe I just got you all those things for favors."

"Then why didn't you make us pay for it?" Adolpha asked.

"You know what?" Lavey flushed slightly. "Maybe I should just tell moms I changed my mind."

"Aw, you don't have to be embarrassed that you care about us! It's sweet!" Jin said, reaching one hand down to set on Lavey's stomach.

Lavey smacked her.

"Whatever, idiot."

A moment later, their mothers walked into the room, Yang holding a crushed DVD in her metallic hand.

"So, what're we watching?" Yang asked, flopping onto the other couch.

"Whatever you guys want. I got what _I_ wanted from tonight," Lavey said.

A smug smirk grew across her lips as her mind wandered.

She might have helped her siblings and gotten them what they wanted...

But she didn't tell them _everything_.

-

Lavey had just finished movie night and raced to get her shower first, shoving Jin out of the way to claim it. She was now in the vents, on her way to bed. She paused as she passed a small compartment that she'd dug into the ventilation, like a hatch. It fit in almost perfectly, and Lavey knew that nobody else had found it.

She opened it up, smirking as she caught sight of a DVD case...

For a rainy day.

Like she'd said, she didn't tell her siblings _all_ of her secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adolpha: What's going on?  
> Crystal: Aella thinks that homophobic means scared of gay people.  
> Aella: *at full volume* IF I DON'T HAVE ONE MILLION DOLLARS ON MY DOORSTEP IN AN HOUR I SWEAR I WILL KISS THIS WOMAN ON THE LIPS IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN!  
> -  
> Lavey: I'm sorry, dear siblings, but I don't have my glasses, so I can't hear you! *slips away into the vents like a deranged squirrel*  
> Auburn: *speaks louder*  
> Aella: Wait a sec... Lavey doesn't wear glasses!  
> Akio: Or, you know, GLASSES DON'T HELP WITH HEARING, but whatever...  
> -  
> Akio: This is always what happens! You get me all excited and then take advantage of my love for the scientific method!  
> -  
> Crystal: Lav, you can't just cut pieces of toast up, pour butter on it, and call it a meal.  
> Narrator: BUt she would. And soon after, she would violate the Geneva conventions.  
> -  
> Crystal: There's nothing you can say to stop me!  
> Aella: Oh yeah?! What if I said... blargen fediddle no-hip?  
> Crystal: *hesitating and trying to figure out what she said*  
> Aella:  
> Crystal: Well, I gotta admit, that did slow me down a bit...  
> -  
> Lavey: There's always that weak bitch in the friend group that isn't down for murder.  
> -  
> Aella: Here's the tea.  
> Crystal: FOR THE LAST TIME, IT'S CALLED A MISSION REPORT!  
> Aella: Do you want the tea or not?  
> -  
> Aella: You remember the plan for if I get shot?  
> Adolpha: This is a bad plan-  
> Lavey: If you get shot, I'm supposed to sing "MMMM WHATCHA SAYYY!" no matter what happens.  
> -  
> Auburn: OH NO! CRYSTAL IS CHOKING! CALL 911!  
> Aella: But there's no 9 on the phone! Oh, I know! I'll turn the phone upside down and use the 6!!!  
> Auburn: Genius!  
> Crystal: *stops choking* WHAT?!  
> -  
> Adolpha: I need you to swear-  
> Crystal: Damn.  
> Adolpha: I mean like a promise...  
> -  
> Jin: Who brings a knife to family game night?!  
> Lavey: THE PREPARED!  
> -  
> Lavey: I have a few knives up my sleeves.  
> Adolpha: You mean tricks?  
> Lavey: No.  
> -  
> Crystal: You're an idiot, you know that?  
> Aella: In my defense, I did know that.  
> -  
> Adolpha: What are your strengths?  
> Jin: I have cat-like reflexes.  
> Adolpha: Can you show me?  
> Jin: *pointing at Crystal* I like that cat.  
> -  
> Adolpha: What has Akio so upset?  
> Crystal *sighing* Aella has been using common saying innocrrectly.  
> Aella: OH CRY ME A TABLE, AKIO!  
> -  
> Lavey: I trust Aella.  
> Crystal: You think she knows what she's doing?  
> Lavey: *scoffing* I wouldn't go that far, no.  
> -  
> Lavey: I am about to demonstrate to you that kneecaps are a privilege, not a human right.  
> -  
> Aella: *strangling someone*  
> Jin: NO! *pushes Aella out of the way* Your hands are too small! *strangles person, but more effectively*  
> -  
> Aella: Crystal just told me we have to fight back against the machine because they were treating faunus poorly. So I broke the toaster.  
> Everyone:  
> Aella: I realize now that that is not the machine that she was referring to.  
> -  
> Lavey: *finger guns and winking* I hit that.  
> Crystal: FOR THE LAST TIME, STOP SAYING THAT ABOUT MENTAL BREAKDOWNS!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Where are we?  
> Aella: I dunno, this whole place is unmapped.  
> Crystal: It's not unmapped, you just lost the damn map!  
> -  
> Weiss: Why do all seven of you go everywhere together???  
> Aella: We're not sold separately.  
> Lavey: We're pack animals.  
> Adolpha: Woof woof.  
> -  
> Auburn: Crystal just held a seashell up to her ear and said that the ocean said I was a bitch.  
> -  
> Jin: *hugs Lavey and Aella*  
> Lavey: What's up? Why are you doing this now?  
> Jin: I'm appreciating the little things in life.  
> Aella: BITCH-  
> -  
> Lavey: There could be a ghost aggressively breakdancing beside you and you'd have no idea.  
> Aella: OH MY DUST! SHE'S RIGHT!  
> Crystal: MAKE HER STOP, ADOLPHA!  
> Lavey: YOU CAN'T STOP THE TRUTH!  
> -  
> *lights in the apartment go out*  
> Crystal: Aella, did you forget to pay the power bill?!  
> Aella:... Maybe?  
> Lavey: *walking in, strumming a guitar* When your lights don't work like they used to before-  
> Crystal: NOT THE TIME!  
> -  
> Lavey: Do you support gay rights?  
> Adolpha: Uh, I'm gay.  
> Aella: SHE'S AVOIDING THE QUESTION!  
> -  
> Auburn: It's dark in here.  
> Adolpha: It is?  
> Auburn: I mean, not that it, like, bothers me. I'm not scared of the dark or anything.  
> Adolpha:  
> Auburn:  
> Adolpha: Would you like to hold my hand?  
> Auburn: Yes, please.  
> -  
> Crystal: I'm at a loss for words.  
> Lavey: Despite being at a loss for words, she continued to yell at Aella for 20 minutes.


	28. The Grocery Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If anybody wants to add any incorrect quotes for the kids, just comment them and if they fit, I'll add them to a chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Submitted by: DRGUINEAPIG87
> 
> Adolpha(who recently had one of her baby teeth pulled): Hey Lavey have you seen my tooth?  
> Lavey: Oh I know where it is.  
> Adolpha: Where is it?  
> Lavey: You want answers?  
> Adolpha: I want my tooth.  
> Lavey: YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TOOTH!

"LAVEY PUT THAT BACK!" Weiss cried.

"But it's everything I've ever wanted in my life," Lavey said, practically drooling as she looked at the Nerf gun. "It would just take a few alterations to become deadly... It's beautiful."

"Well, she's definitely your daughter, Sugar, in case the silver eyes didn't seal the deal for you," Blake said, arms crossed as she watched Lavey.

Ruby had a look of pure love on her face, hands brought up to cover her mouth as she watched her youngest daughter.

"Can I get it?!"

Ruby looked like she was about to say yes, which caused Crystal to come scrambling over.

"Don't give it to her! She'll kill us!" she cried.

"No I won't!" Lavey replied quickly.

"She definitely would," Akio said, not looking up from the book that he was reading.

"I wouldn't kill you, just lightly maim. Friends and family discount."

"Maiming us is not a friends and family discount!" Crystal snapped.

Lavey began to snicker.

"But then you'd be.... HALF OFF!" she cried.

There was a moment of silence.

Crystal then spun and stalked down the aisle, stopping beside a Faunus couple and standing nearby. Yang just started to cheer.

"Haha! You're definitely related to me!" she cheered, grabbing Lavey around the waist and hoisting her into the air. "You can totally get the gun, Lav!"

Lavey cheered as well, grabbing her mother around the shoulders to steady herself as Yang started a scene.

"Honey, can you please keep it down?" Blake hissed.

"Thanks, mom, this is great," Crystal was saying loudly to one member of the Faunus couple. "I don't know them," she gestured vaguely at her siblings and mothers.

"Who are you?" one of the mysterious Faunus asked.

"Just go with it!" Crystal hissed. "WOW! Those ten _sure are_ being obnoxious, aren't they? Wow, wonder who they are!" Crystal said loudly.

"Crystal, get back here!" Weiss cried. "You look just like us, that trick isn't going to work, now get back here before I drag you back by your tail!"

The Faunus couple gasped.

Blake raised her hand, rolling her eyes internally at her wife's words.

"It's alright, that's our daughter, I'm sorry for her. Crystal, you can't run away just because your sister is embarrassing. If I ran away every time your mothers were embarrassing, I would have never had you, now get back over here."

Crystal sighed and slumped as she made her way back over to the other members of her family, arms crossed.

"You're just jealous because I get a gun," Lavey said with a smug smirk.

"You're so _weird_!" Crystal hissed.

"WHAT WAS THAT, SISTER?!" she cried at full volume. "YOU THINK I'M **WEIRD** AND **EMBARRASSING**?! WELL I MIGHT AS WELL MAKE A SCENE ABOUT THAT!"

Adolpha clutched her ears.

"Stop yelling, Lav!" she called.

"Right, right, sorry," Lavey said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Let's just get out of here," Crystal muttered, shaking her head in frustration.

"With a gun!" Lavey cried.

"A Nerf gun," Weiss corrected.

" **A gun**!" Lavey said again, louder this time as she was perched on Yang's shoulders, Yang starting to walk out of the aisle and heading toward the check out.

Crystal huffed and followed her family, fighting the small smile that was tugging on her tips. They were annoying, but... they were a bit fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lavey: Technically, TECHNICALLY, you can't prove that I CAN die until I DO die.  
> Crystal: I hate you and the fact that this makes sense.  
> -  
> Lavey: You know the saying, guilty until proven innocent.  
> Jin: That is NOT the saying... that is the OPPOSITE of the saying!  
> -  
> Lavey: I keep all my emotions right here, and then one day I'll die.  
> -  
> Aella: *after losing all her favors* I am very small, and I have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress I am under.  
> -  
> Lavey: My sisters and brothers are bitches and I love them SO MUCH!  
> -  
> Jin: You could probably pour soup in my lap and I'd apologize to you.  
> -  
> Lavey: *to Auburn* You have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair.  
> Auburn: You don't even have morals!  
> Lavey: But I STICK TO IT!  
> -  
> Crystal: What uh... what are you doing this *gestures at Lavey's ventilation system* for?  
> Lavey: So you know how I'm tiny and filled with rage?  
> -  
> Crystal: *to Adolpha* Just because you're accurate doesn't mean you're interesting.


	29. The Spar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is with a heavy heart that I must declare this fic...
> 
> As on hiatus for the next ten days. I am leaving tomorrow for a vacation with the fam, but I might be able to get just a few 500-750 word chapters for the time (like the chapter before this), but my beta reader, TheLonelyDraconequus, will answer questions that they can and document any requests for chapters!
> 
> Sorry that I have to do this, but I PROMISE that I will be back with ideas and chapters and endless horrible jokes, so don't worry!!!

"Should... should we stop them?" Crystal asked, watching her siblings with absolute awe.

"No way! I'm not getting in the middle of that crap!" Aella cried, throwing her hands into the air in frustration.

"But they're going to _kill_ each other!" Crystal hissed.

"They won't kill each other," Akio said, rolling his eyes before returning to his book.

"And if they kill each other, we'll still probably have one of them left alive by the end, considering there's bound to be a winner, right?" Auburn pointed out.

"But what if none of us are alive to _see_ who wins?!" Crystal cried.

"You think they're going to kill _all_ of us?" Akio asked, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Kio, Lavey on her own is like a damn nuclear weapon!" Crystal growled. "Of course I think they're going to kill us when they're all combined!"

Aella hesitated.

"She's... she's actually got a point there."

"Damn right I have a point!" Crystal cried. "We can't let them get into this when there's people nearby! I don't think they should **ever** get into this! Th-there should be laws against this!"

"There are, and they're called familial abuse laws, but they're negated considering they're all willing participants in this sparring match," Akio said, not looking up from his book as he flipped a page.

"I didn't decide to participate, and I **still** might die!" Crystal growled.

Akio, finally realizing that his siblings weren't going to let him concentrate on his reading, closed his book and set it down on his lap so that he could look up and watch the sparring session that was occurring in front of him.

The three had agreed against the use of weapons (mainly because Lavey was an absolute monster when it came to fighting on her own, and Adolpha and Jin didn't want to have to deal with her when she used her weapon that Ruby herself had helped her to perfect), and were instead focusing on their semblances.

The three were exceedingly evenly matched.

Jin and Adolpha were both super close to one another, and therefore knew the other's weaknesses and had to work hard to get the upperhand.

As for Lavey...

Well, dust! Hardly anyone ever stood a chance against her!

Aunt Alea had once had her Aura come within seconds of breaking before she'd beaten their sister in her sparring session...

And that had been last year.

Suffice it to say, Lavey was formidable.

But Jin was her exact opposite, capable of taking pretty much all of the punishment she could deal out, considering her semblance was as close as one could get to the opposite of Lavey's.

As for Adolpha and Lavey... well, Lavey was the most unpredictable person the seven had ever met, except perhaps for Aella, but she also had an exceedingly strategic mind, which meant that Adolpha was always on her toes, forced to focus on the _dozens_ upon _dozens_ of different possibilities that Lavey always had.

If Lavey got too predictable, then Adolpha would typically win. If Adolpha gave Lavey any hint of an opening or got too overwhelmed by the sheer volume of possibilities... Lavey would strike and win with ease.

As anyone watching could tell, it was a delicate dance that the three now found themselves in.

Lavey had her focus on Jin, a grin on her face. She didn't need to worry about Adolpha at the moment, considering she was, according to Crystal, still confusing the shit out of the other girl by just existing.

Adopha could see countless shadows springing from Lavey, and for some reason, they all seemed equally plausible to her.

She threw herself to the side as a stray punch from Jin sailed over her head. She'd rather not get beat up by her younger sister so early, thank you very much.

Jin didn't seem to notice, as she was also focusing her motions on Lavey, which meant that Adolpha had the time to watch her. Jin always had less shadows than most people, meaning she was more sure of which course of action she was going to take at any given point, and that might have been why Jin and Adolpha had become so close at a young age.

But that could all change when they were fighting, specifically when she was fighting Adolpha. But she could _never_ have as many shadows as Lavey. Nobody could. It was always nerve wracking for Adolpha to fight Lavey, or even to watch her fight, all things considered.

Adolpha was waiting for an opening to attack, but she suddenly realized that the fight had shifted from a three person one to a one on one.

Adolpha could attack right now and fight the two of them, probably winning considering they were distracted, but she didn't want to have a weak victory, so she took a step back.

"You two have fun. I always wanted to see what would happen when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object," Adolpha said.

Lavey looked over at her with a smirk.

"Thanks, Dolph! Don't worry, I can take you on next!" Lavey called, raising one hand and catching Jin's fist in her grasp.

She collected the kinetic energy easily and with a smug expression on her face.

Lavey then shot her leg out and grabbed Jin behind the leg and tugged with great force.

Most people would have stumbled and let out cries of shock (and obviously pain), but Jin took the attack with ease.

She then grabbed Lavey around the waist with both hands, lifted her into the air, then then promptly **slammed** her against the ground.

Lavey rolled to her feet with ease before she gasped.

"Jin! JIN! How **dare** you?!" Lavey reached one hand and patted at her jacket. "You got my favorite jacket dirty!"

"That's your only jacket."

"THAT'S THE POINT!"

Lavey then sighed and shrugged her jacket off, letting it fall to the ground behind her.

Jin raised an eyebrow and watched her with a small smile.

"You practicing showing off?" she asked.

Lavey snorted.

"Please, I'm _always_ ready to show off."

"Even when Ros-"

Lavey raced forward at full speed, using her semblance and the stored kinetic energy.

Jin tried to escape the blow, but Lavey slammed against her, swinging punches with ruthless efficiency.

Adolpha, and everyone else watching, winced. If she had taken that blow... well, Auburn's expression of almost having to throw up summed it up pretty well.

But Jin took it in stride, but Adolpha guessed that made sense, considering her sister's semblance.

Jin's semblance was, in essence, the opposite of Lavey's own, which made sense considering their personalities were too. Jin could absorb damage, or in Lavey's case the kinetic energy she used to power her attacks, and cut it in half. That meant that every supercharged punch Lavey gave was cut in half by Jin... which made Lavey seem like a normal person in comparison. A crazy, unpredictable, and impossible to fight normal person, but a normal person nonetheless.

All of Lavey's punches struck Jin and then bounced off of her, but still caused her to take a step back.

The power that came from these attacks that was cut in half had to go _somewhere_ , though, which meant that small blasts of air bounced off in every direction of the strikes.

Auburn toppled out of his seat with a **thud** , and Crystal summoned a glyph to protect herself.

"That's it! That's enough! This has been going on for _half an hour_ , and they're going to get someone killed!"

Adolpha was surprised. Had it already been half an hour? She had barely gotten the chance to fight against them, the pair clearly focused on one another, making Adolpha nothing but a distraction to the pair. That was why she had backed out. Or at least half of why, the other half being that Adolpha wasn't sure she wanted to get in between the two of them.

"How are their Auras?" Adolpha called.

Crystal held up her scroll, showing that both were still above eighty, Lavey's being slightly higher than Jin's, but only by a percent or two.

"Alright, this is going to last forever."

Adolpha stepped forward, evading a few blows (she was almost hit three times by Lavey on the way), and caught Jin's fist in one hand, putting her hand on Lavey's head to stop her.

"Get your hand off my head, Dolph, or I'll take that hand off."

Adolpha knew she was kidding. She moved her hand anyway.

"Hey, this fighting has gone on long enough, you're both awesome, so calm down and just take a step back. Do you really want to know who would win-"

"Yes!" both cried.

Adolpha winced.

"But why do you want to know when you're both such a great team? You can just know that you're equally powerful, that there's no winner, and you're both incredible together. So put down your fists and come inside."

Lavey and Jin shared a glance.

"Mama made cookies."

"I'm in!" Lavey cried. She gave Jin a quick handshake before she darted inside.

And that was it.

It was easy to calm Lavey down sometimes, considering you could distract her with cookies sometimes... but other times...

Adolpha decided not to think about the favors and Lavey's surprisingly strategic mind.

It **really** didn't make sense! She was insane, and yet...

And yet Adolpha had never won a game of chess against her. She could beat everyone else in their family, although her semblance did help with that, but Lavey...

She couldn't beat Lavey.

And as she watched Lavey drag Jin inside, she couldn't help but wonder one thing...

Why had Lavey insisted that Adolpha joined her and Jin in a fight?

Jin had suggested it just be them, but Lavey...

"Son of a bitch," Adolpha muttered. "You planned this."

"Yeah, yeah, I did, catch up already!" Lavey called rolling her eyes. It was basic strategy. There wouldn't be a winner between herself and Jin, and they'd need someone to stop them, and only Adolpha would be the one that was willing to do that.

She sometimes wondered why a girl that could see almost every possible future could be so blind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lavey: Have you ever seen a ghost?  
> Yang: Yes.  
> Aella: OOOH! That's the best answer!  
> Auburn: I think I'm gonna throw up...  
> Blake: Let's change the subject.  
> *later*  
> Crystal: *panicking* WHAT WAS MOMMA BLAKE HIDING?!  
> -  
> Lavey: *about their parents* So they're finally gonna kill us, huh?  
> Aella: I thought we would be older...  
> Crystal: But we are pretty big assholes, so... makes sense.  
> Adolpha: Stop being so dramatic, ya weirdos!  
> -  
> Crystal: Lavey, Momma said to get ready for din...  
> Lavey(adding a large amount of knives to the end of the Nerf gun with duct tape): Oh hello sister.  
> Crystal: NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NNNNNOOOOOOPPPPPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!  
> (submitted by DRGUINEAPIG87)  
> -
> 
> Random person: Ahhh you’re so cute!  
> Lavey: I am the destroyer of worlds, the harbinger of doom, I shall be the last thing you see as you scream and beg for your pathetic lives.  
> Random person:…  
> Adolpha: (sigh) that’s the fifth time today Lav!  
> (submitted by Lion454)  
> -  
> Adolpha(who recently had one of her baby teeth pulled): Hey Lavey have you seen my tooth?  
> Lavey: Oh I know where it is.  
> Adolpha: Where is it?  
> Lavey: You want answers?  
> Adolpha: I want my tooth.  
> Lavey: YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TOOTH!  
> (submitted by DRGUINEAPIG87)  
> -  
> Lavey: *holding a large t-shirt* My mothers told me that I could wear this when I was older *looks down at herself* so that was a FUCKING lie.  
> -  
> Lavey: So, in conclusion, I met some of the worst, most insufferable people I've ever known in my life. But they also met me, so... we're even.  
> -  
> Little Lavey: When am I gonna get big and strong?  
> Older Lavey: I got strong... but I'm still a little gremlin.


	30. The Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd the hiatus is official. Love you guys, gals, and everything between pals, so thanks for sticking with me this far and I hope you'll be here when I get back.
> 
> Also btw, there's a lot of new characters in this chapter, some of which have been mentioned... some of which I have not revealed yet and might not this chapter!  
> Crosshares: Saffron, Rosemary, Colby  
> Cielpolitan/whatever ship names I've seen: Romy, Romelle  
> IliaxSunxPyrrha: Clover, perhaps more
> 
> Unknown new characters:  
> Ilesha, Arlen, Bentley, Zohra, Barrie, Cassandra

Today was a special day for the Belladonna-Schnee family, considering it was the seven (seven) children's birthday. Team RWBY had created a wonderful party for their fifteenth birthday with a _giant_ cake (for all of their relatives and friends, not to mention the fact that Lavey's stomach was like a bottomless pit), balloons, streamers, and they had used the entire backyard for the kids to play.

They didn't have that many decorations, considering all seven of their children had their birthday on the same day, which meant that these seven _very_ different people had to have it together and there weren't that many decorations they could agree on.

Adolpha was currently sitting at the table and quietly talking to Lavey's best friend, Romy.

Romy and Lavey were both troublemakers, and they were always the bane of their teacher's existence. Romy's twin sister, her _identical_ twin sister, Romelle was sitting next to Aella, her own best friend. The four of them typically hung out together and planned pranks, which were always frustrating for Adolpha, and yet the wolf Faunus was always trying to talk to the twins.

Lavey had her arms crossed against her chest as she leaned back against her chair, a small smirk on her face as she did so.

"Something funny?" a familiar voice asked.

Lavey glanced to the side, eyes landing on Rosemary, Coco and Velvet's oldest triplet.

"Always, Rose. You know I'm hilarious."

Rosemary reached up and tilted her pink-tinted sunglasses down some so that she could looked down at Lavey where she sat.

"Is that so?" she asked, brown eyes sparkling with a playful light as she took a seat next to Lavey.

"Oh, definitely. Ask anyone here, they'll tell you I'm a riot."

"So _everyone_ thinks you're funny, huh?" she asked, bumping her shoulder against Lavey's own.

"No, I said everyone thinks I'm a riot, and that's definitely true."

"You're definitely the one that _starts_ riots."

"Exactly my point!"

Rosemary snickered and leaned back in her own chair, glancing over at Lavey.

"Hey, happy birthday," she said.

Lavey stared at her for a moment before putting on a small smile.

"Thanks."

Meanwhile, Akio was seated beside Cooper, and the two were talking, both having what Akio's siblings would call "a super, extra nerdy bonanza."

Their cousin was a weird kid, but to be fair so were they, and they attributed his oddness to being related to a robot and a woman that acted like a one.

Cooper was laughing in excitement, pulling out a calculator from his pocket.

"Oh yeah! I was just talking to my momma about that! She was showing me about calculus, you know, because it's my favorite subject-"

"Yes, yes, we all know you love math, Coop," Akio said with a roll of his eyes and a slight laugh.

Cooper gave him a small, awkward smile.

"Right, right, I'm just... I wanted to show you and I got too excited again, didn't I?"

Akio reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"No, you didn't, now get back to showing me your new calculator."

Cooper _beamed_ in excitement and nodded happily, showing off the calculator to his cousin.

Clover and Auburn were both having fun in the corner, both of them having fun playing tag. After a few minutes, they dragged Akio and Cooper into it, though it seemed as if Akio had the advantage considering he could just teleport wherever he wanted. To even out the score, Aunt Stacey was dragged in so that she could sneak up on him invisibly.

"Where are Saffron and Colby?" Lavey asked, glancing at Rosemary with a small smirk on her face.

"Colby dragged Aella and Romelle off a minute ago. I think they're going to go prank someone," Rosemary shrugged. "And Saffron... Saffron could be _anywhere_ , but I wouldn't be surprised if she was somewhere playing with Ilesha."

"Always playing with the little ones?" Lavey said playfully.

"Ilesha's only a little younger than us, Lav, you should be nicer to her. I mean, Dust, she's, what, two years younger than you but still almost a foot taller than you?" Rosemary said, smirking. Lavey could just imagine her expression behind her glasses.

"Everyone's taller than me, asshole."

"Hey missy, you should watch your language. Crystal must be rubbing off on you."

Lavey snorted.

"Who do you think taught her to cuss?"

Rosemary side eyed her.

"No way."

"You think Crystal just decided one day to become a sailor? No way! I taught her the ways of cursing, and she took it and ran."

"You're kidding."

Lavey smirked, kicking her feet up onto the table and tipping her chair back some.

A hand set itself on her chair and tilted it forward.

"Careful, you'll fall," a familiar voice said.

Lavey let out a sigh, turning back with her typical glare on her face...

Ilesha gave her a small smile and a wink.

"Wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Lavey didn't reply as the other girl walked off, joining in the game of tag. Lavey watched her dash through the yard, laughing and dodging different attempts to catch her.

When Akio teleported to her side, Ilesha dove onto the grass and rolled to the side with a giggle.

Akio teleported again, but this time she used a practiced kick in the air to give her momentum to leap back to her feet, dodging him once again.

After two more attempts, Akio was able to tag her, and she let out a playful groan before taking off and chasing down Barrie, tackling him to the ground with a grin.

"You're it!" she cried, racing away.

"You know, she's thirteen now," Rosemary said. "Not too much younger than us."

Lavey rolled her eyes.

"I mean, we're almost a year younger than you," Rosemary said, clearly including herself, the twins, and the Nikos. "She's not a little girl anymore."

"So?" Lavey asked, raising an eyebrow and watching her friend with confusion. "Neither's Arlen, Zorha, Bentley, or Cassandra."

Rosemary just smiled with a knowing glint to her eyes as she started to rock her chair back and forth.

Cassandra was currently talking with Jin quietly nearby Adolpha, the pair clearly understanding why the wolf Faunus would prefer some peace and quiet.

Suddenly, Crystal flopped down onto the seat beside Lavey, shaking her head.

"Ugh, Ilesha is getting _way_ too fast to play with. What happened to the little annoying baby?" Crystal whined, clearly winded from the running.

Rosemary smirked and Lavey threw her hands up into the air.

"Time passes, kids grow up, shit happens!" Lavey snapped.

"Lavey Penny Belladonna-Schnee!" Rosemary admonished. "Don't say stuff like that! Watch your language!"

Rosemary smirked and Lavey smacked her arm.

"I should never have let you know my middle name."

"Of course I know your middle name! We grew up together, you're named after my aunt, and I know your mothers."

Lavey rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said with a scoff.

But a small smile grew across her lips.

She guessed... that she _had_ had a pretty good childhood so far...

But she'd definitely not tell Rosemary that.

-

Ivy sat up in bed, eyes wide.

Well... that was interesting...

But she couldn't remember a bit of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aella: I like to think things through.  
> Adolpha: I once saw you eat a marshmallow that was still on fire.  
> -  
> Aella: *climbing on furniture to reach something*  
> Jin: *from across the room* Parkour.  
> -  
> Crystal: While you were busy being heterosexual, I studied the blade.  
> -  
> Lavey: *falling into Crystal's lap* Tell me I'm pretty.  
> Crystal: You're pretty fucking annoying is what you are, now get outta my lap.  
> -  
> *on Disney teacup ride*  
> Adolpha and Jin: *spinning slowly, talking*  
> Aella and Lavey: *flying past them spinning as fast as they can, screaming*  
> -  
> Jin: *trying to get Lavey to help with decorations for Halloween* Get in the holiday spirit and make a ghost.  
> Lavey: That's called murder and I heard it's illegal.  
> -  
> Aella: *Singing* Stalker chased an Akio and POP! Goes his knee caps  
> Akio: DAMN IT STOP TRYING TO SHOOT ME!  
> Lavey & Crystal: *eats popcorn and drinks soda*  
> Lavey:... Should we stop her?  
> Crystal: No. He deserves it for stealing her cookies.  
> (submitted by rektthedemonking)  
> -  
> Aella: *humming into the kitchen, skipping* *drops Akio's glasses into the sink and turns on the garbage disposal* *skips back out, still humming*  
> Crystal: That was the most ruthless thing I've ever seen in my life-  
> -  
> Lavey: That's not happening unless a lot of people get real cool about a lot of things real fast.  
> -  
> Aella, Jin, Auburn, Adolpha, Akio, and Crystal: MCDONALDS MCDONALDS MCDONALDS!  
> Lavey: *pulls into McDonalds* I'd like one black coffee please.  
> -  
> Crystal: I've been living a lie.  
> Lavey: Just one? I've been living, like, twenty.  
> -  
> Lavey: And then I lied, you know, like a liar.  
> -  
> Auburn: I know what I'm doing, and I also don't want to be doing it, so don't yell at me.  
> Aella: That's not gonna happen.  
> -  
> Crystal: *doing her essay for school* It doesn't have to be right, it just has to be short!  
> Lavey: Are you talking about me?


	31. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I’m not dead, but I’m not back home either, so updates aren’t going to be rather random. BUT! I finally decided on Auburn’s semblance, and it’s inspired by a comment telling me that he should be a healer (even though it didn’t end quite like that).
> 
> I don’t remember who said it, so please comment if it was you!!!

"There's no way that this is fair!" Aella whined.

"What?! You have Aunty S on your team, stop complaining about stuff not being fair!" Lavey cried, arms crossed.

They'd been about to start their spar, but Aella had interrupted it.

"But... but your team is totally over powered!" Aella whined.

"We are?" Lavey asked, arms crossed with a smirk. "Didn't notice."

Aella scowled at her.

"We decided three years ago in the sparring session of July that team ALJC was too overpowered, along with team ALJA."

"Because I'm amazing?" Lavey asked with a smirk.

Aella stared at her with disappointment.

"Hey, I'm sure I can make up for whatever difference there is," Syntheia said.

"Please! Not even Aunt Alea could make up for the difference!" Akio said, waving his hand dismissively.

Syntheia looked partly offended and partly intrigued.

"Come on, they can't possibly be that powerful together," Syntheia said.

"We're pretty awesome, admittedly, but it's possible to beat us," Lavey said, but the smirk on her face seemed to say otherwise.

"Let's just see how it goes," Syntheia said to her team, which consisted of herself, Akio, Aella, and Crystal.

Their opposing team was composed of Adolpha, Lavey, Jin, and Auburn.

Team ALJA was back and better than ever, which made their siblings start to sweat nervously.

"Dust," Crystal cursed.

"What? It's only fun when you're the one on Lavey and Auburn's team?" Akio asked, glaring.

"Yes!" Crystal cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's not fair to let them partner up!"

Auburn and Lavey shared a smirk.

"I've been saving up kinetic energy all day, Aub, you're going to love it!" Lavey said, punching her fist into the palm of her other.

"I'm sure this will be a," Adolpha fought a grin, "very fair fight."

"Save it, asshole!" Crystal called.

Syntheia smacked her arm.

"Don't say that."

"I heard you say it!" Crystal whined.

"So what?" Syntheia asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm an adult, you're a child, now shut up and get ready to fight."

Crystal huffed and turned to face her siblings, clutching her rapier.

She was the only one that was allowed to have her weapon right now, considering they were practicing with their teamwork and semblances, and hers depended on her weapon.

"This is gonna be fun!" Lavey said as she got into position.

Jin and Adolpha shared a quick look, both fighting off grins of their own.

"Fighting and learning is always fun," Adolpha said slowly.

"Aw, c'mon, Auburn's about to do his thing," Lavey said with an eye roll, "you don't have to lie to me, I know you're excited!"

Adolpha let herself smile just slightly, eyes falling shut as she got ready.

"Get ready," Syntheia said, "get set," Auburn's eyes glowed and his hands shot out, grabbing Jin and Adolpha by the arms, "go!"

Jin and Adolpha's Auras both began to glow as their brother connected them.

Meanwhile, Akio, Crystal, and Aella all dashed forward in an attempt to deal any damage before-

Lavey bounded over.

"Alright... lets get this party started."

Auburn reached out and snatched Lavey's outstretched hand, both of them starting to glow.

Akio teleported in an attempt to push them apart, but Adolpha and Jin were already there, having seen the action coming a mile away.

Jin kicked Akio in the stomach, sending him flying toward Adolpha, who snatched him up.

She started to glow, and Adolpha smirked, finding herself filled with the sort of power she'd only ever felt when Auburn connected her and Lavey.

"I'm taking it for a spin," she called.

"Be my guest!" Lavey cried.

Adolpha turned on the Semblance before sending Akio soaring into the air, slamming into Aella, who cursed and tried to catch her brother as he screamed.

"It's too late," Crystal breathed, skidding to a stop.

"I forgot how amazing your Semblance was, Lav!" Adolpha said, opening and closing her fists experimentally.

"And I forgot how overwhelming yours could be," Lavey said, but she had on a confident smirk as she strode forward.

Auburn just reveled in the feeling of three Semblances filling him once more, especially ones of this level. It had been too long.

You see, Auburn technically had a Semblance of his own, but it couldn't do anything if he didn't have any willing partners like Lavey, Jin, or Adolpha.

He was able to take a willing participant's Semblance and spread it between multiple people. In other words, he could allow someone like Jin to share her Semblance between the four of them, capable of cutting any attack's power in half.

But only one of them could use it at a time, considering it wasn't a passive Semblance like Adolpha's. When a passive Semblance was shared, everyone could use it, but to a... lesser extent.

In Adolpha's case, all of them were able to see possible futures, but only a few, more probable outcomes, rather than the dozens that Adolpha typically saw.

Lavey's Semblance, however, was a bit different. All of them could use it at any given point, but each of their kinetic energy stores was one fourth of what Lavey had had built up.

It sounds confusing, probably, but every Semblance was inherently different, which meant that the way that Auburn shared them was different.

Lavey grinned mercilessly, her gaze landing on her closest enemy.

Crystal cursed and stumbled backward.

"Hey, listen, Lav, you don't have to-"

"Oh, I definitely do," Lavey said with a smirk.

She dashed forward impossibly fast, using some of her stored up kinetic energy, and slammed her fist against her sister's gut.

Lavey laughed as Crystal stumbled back at the strong punch.

Crystal kicked out, and Lavey let it hit her, turning on Jin's Semblance for a split second to cut the attack in half while simultaneously absorbing the entirety of the kinetic energy that it had dealt.

Lavey then lifted her leg and kicked Crystal in the gut, sending her flying backward and slumping against the ground, groaning.

Lavey hesitated.

She finally turned and glanced at her siblings.

Auburn was directing Jin and Adolpha from behind as they made quick work of Akio and Aella.

They were both hard to attack, considering they were very good at evading blows, but with Adolpha's Semblance as their guide, the three were able to pinpoint where their siblings would end up.

That left... Lavey smirked and turned to Syntheia almost lazily.

"Hey, Aunty S," Lavey called, waving at her.

Syntheia held up her fists, eyes darting to Akio and Aella, who were slowly being brought down by Lavey's team. Syntheia was obviously struggling with Lavey, considering all of her possible futures were so low in possibility. This meant that her Semblance was on and contradicting Adolpha's own.

It must have been overwhelming for Syntheia, but Lavey didn't notice.

The two exchanged a few minutes of attacks, Lavey quietly paying attention to her teammates and siblings to make sure they were alright.

Soon enough, Lavey had gotten her unofficial aunt down to lower Aura levels.

"You might be all strong or whatever," Lavey said with a shrug, "but those idiots," Lavey gestured vaguely around the backyard, "are my siblings, and when we come together...," Lavey smirked and reared her fist back, deciding to go for the finishing blow, "we're unstoppable."

Lavey turned as soon as Syntheia was out of commission, grinning and seeing that Auburn, Adolpha, and Jin were all standing over their opponents.

"This is why this is so unfair," Crystal groaned.

Lavey just laughed and jogged over to join her teammates in their victory celebrations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang: And this is my daughter, Lav.  
> Someone: And what's Lav short for?  
> Crystal: Genetics. That's what Lavey's short for.  
> Lacey: I hate you all.  
> -  
> Terresa: I hear you're afraid of water.  
> Ivy:  
> Terresa: Did you know that rabies causes irrational fear of water?  
> Ivy:  
> Terresa: Do you have rabies?  
> *later*  
> Terresa: ALEA, IVY BIT ME! CAN YOU CHECK IF I HAVE RABIES?!  
> -  
> Ivy: I used to think there were no women worthy of Alea.  
> Stacey, Lexey, Terresa, and Syntheia: Aw, thank you-  
> Ivy: I still think that.  
> -  
> Alea: *choosing a password* Ivy.  
> Computer: Not strong enough.  
> Alea: *destroying computer* SAY THAT AGAIN MOTHERF-  
> -  
> Ruby: Okay, everyone! Write down your greatest accomplishments on these cards. *looks at cards* Syn, Ter, Lex, Stac, marrying Alea doesn't count.  
> -  
> Lavey: Our only hope right now is this kind, selfless, amazing nerd.  
> Akio: Do you need to call me a nerd so much?  
> Lavey: I said a lot of kind things too. Toughen up, nerd.  
> -  
> Stacey: You disappoint me.  
> Natalie: You don't get to tell me that. You're not Ruby, Weiss, Blake, or Yang.  
> Stacey:  
> Natalie: AND NONE OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE MY PARENTS!  
> -  
> Lavey: Have you seen the clown that hides from gay people?  
> Crystal: No.  
> Lavey:  
> Crystal:  
> Lavey: *snickering*  
> Crystal: Wait a damn second-  
> -  
> Crystal: I'm a moderate and peaceful woman.  
> Aella: Yesterday, I watched you throw a chair at Auburn.  
> Crystal: And that was a moderate, peaceful compromise to the table I originally wanted to throw.  
> -  
> Syntheia: It's kinda dark in here. Can you turn on the light?  
> Alea: I don't need to! You're the only light I need!  
> Syntheia: Babe, that's super sweet, but I can't fucking see.  
> -  
> Rachel: You can't set all your problems on fire.  
> Natalie: You'd be surprised how many things are flammable.  
> -  
> Alea: I learned how to use the sword to protect you four!  
> Syntheia: There's nothing sexier than a woman that can put me out of my misery.  
> -  
> Crystal: You're so short. What can you even see down there?  
> Lavey: YOUR IQ YOU DUMB BIT-  
> -  
> Waitress: Aw, how young is your little sister.  
> Lavey: I'm not-  
> Waitress: Kids eat free!  
> Crystal: She's twelve! Look at her ADORABLE wittle face!  
> Lavey: I'll kill you.  
> -  
> Jin: I took Lavey and Aella to see the second twilight movie and they wouldn't stop screaming "TEAM VOLDEMORT!"  
> -  
> Syntheia: I want to wake up in the morning with you four for the rest of my life.  
> Alea: I wake up at 6 in the morning.  
> Syntheia: Nvm.  
> -  
> Aella: WHAT?! YOU DON'T TRUST ME?! I SAVED YOUR LIFE LAST WEEK!  
> Crystal: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT PUT IT IN DANGER IN THE FIRST PLACE!  
> -  
> Aella: *on the phone with their parents* So everything is going fine-  
> Crystal: AUBURN'S BLEEDING OUT!  
> Aella: Just one small problem-  
> -  
> Weiss: Why are there tiny handprints all over the walls?  
> Lavey:  
> Weiss:  
> Lavey: Because I have tiny hands?  
> -  
> Aella: Technically, it's not illegal.  
> Lavey: Yeah!  
> Jin: Okay so it's not illegal but it's definitely immoral.  
> Lavey:  
> Aella:  
> Jin:  
> Aella: So like I was saying-


	32. The Accords

"Elves."

"Shut up, Aub, nobody asked you," Crystal said, arms crossed against her chest as she glared at her brother. "And why in the name of Dust would it be elves?!"

"You know, like the story!" Auburn said. "Yesterday in school? We read about the elves that made shoes, so I was thinking maybe there's elves that steal clothes!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Crystal said, running a hand down her face.

"Then you don't listen," Akio muttered, leaning back against the wall as he thought. "Now we all know it's not elves stealing our clothes," Akio side eyed a pouting Auburn, "but maybe someone _is_ stealing them."

"Who would steal our clothes?" Adolpha asked, head tilted slightly to the side as she watched her brother.

"I don't know, but it's a thought," Akio replied, shrugging.

"Maybe it's like how socks get lost in the dryer!" Auburn cried.

"Are you saying that a whole jacket just... got lost in the dryer?!" Aella cried.

Auburn hesitated.

"No," he finally said.

"That was my favorite jacket," Jin muttered, rubbing her bare arms idly.

"How do you even get cold?! You're like a furnace!" Crystal snapped.

"I get cold!" Jin defended.

Crystal rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but she was forestalled by her sibling.

"You know... maybe you just lost it," Lavey said.

Jin gasped in offense.

"I mean, let's face it, you're not exactly the best at keeping track of your stuff," Lavey continued.

"That's not true!" Jin cried. She looked to Adolpha to back her up, but the wolf Faunus avoided eye contact, twiddling her thumbs idly in front of her.

Jin deflated slightly.

"Well, regardless, it can't be that because I'm not the only one that's missing clothes! We all are!" Jin said.

"That's right!" Aella cried. "So something purposeful must be happening if we're all missing shirts and jackets."

"And pants," Adolpha muttered, arms crossed.

"And pants," Aella added. "So something is happening!"

"If we find who isn't missing clothing...," Akio said slowly, "then we'll find our culprit!"

"Yes!" Adolpha cried. "Good job, Kio! Let's find out who did this!"

"Okay, I'll check Lavey, Aella, and-"

"No way are we splitting up!" Aella snapped. "How do I know that you're not guilty and that you're trying to set one of us up?!"

"I wouldn't!" Akio snapped.

"Then prove it! We're not splitting up!" Aella cried.

"Yeah!" Lavey agreed quickly, looping her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Fine!" Akio snapped. "Let's all go investigate together."

A minute later, the seven stepped into the first bedroom, which belonged the five sisters, as the boys got their own. Theirs was much bigger than Akio and Auburn's room with two bunk beds, one for Adolpha and Jin while the other was for Crystal and Lavey, and the final... "bed" was for Aella. It was hanging in the air, held up by ropes, with no ladder. It hovered in the middle of the room, and Jin had to duck to get underneath it without hitting her head every time.

Aella said she kept it like that because she was the only sibling capable of flight and didn't want her sisters and brothers to be able to get up there.

(Because of this, Lavey constantly scrambled onto the bed like a deranged squirrel and waited for her sister to come into the room. Aella had taken to trying to get her off by smacking her with a broom, but Lavey was such a small target that it was difficult.)

"Alright, open it up!" Akio demanded, pointing at the closet. "Let's take inventory."

"How do you know how much clothing your sisters have?" Lavey asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned back against the wall.

Akio hesitated.

"Well, I just assumed that Adolpha would know..."

"Why would I know?" the wolf Faunus asked, frowning. "Do you know how many shirts Auburn has?"

"Yes!" Akio said defensively. "He has eight."

"I do?" Auburn asked.

"Well, you did before someone started stealing clothes. Now you have seven."

"Oh."

Akio rolled his eyes.

"So none of you know how many pieces of clothing you should have?" he asked.

"Nope," Aella said.

Akio threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Then how will we know if something's missing?!"

"Well... my jacket is gone," Jin said slowly.

"You have three identical jackets," Akio muttered.

Jin frowned.

"But my favorite is gone!"

"There's a difference?" Lavey asked.

"Yes!" Jin cried.

Lavey held her hands up in defeat.

"Okay, sorry, my bad!"

Jin nodded and showed the space in her closet with the missing jacket.

"Okay... and Aella?" Akio questioned.

"I'm missing a shirt," she said.

"Which one?"

"A red one."

"All of your shirts are red."

"So are Lavey's," Aella said defensively.

"That's not true!" Lavey snapped. "I have blue ones."

"Yeah, but you don't wear them," Aella said, shrugging.

Lavey rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, cause one of them is missing."

"It is?" Akio asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Lavey said with a shrug.

"So it was a shirt that wasn't important to you?" Akio asked slowly.

"Hey, if I care enough to own it, I'll kill whoever stole it," Lavey said with a glare.

"She's right," Crystal said, shrugging.

"And what did you lose?" Akio asked.

"A jacket too," Crystal replied, frowning.

"Really? Suspicious."

"No it's not," Crystal said, glaring.

"I lost a pair of pants," Adolpha said with a shrug. "Which is weird."

"That is weird," Akio agreed, sounding suspicious.

Adolpha rolled her eyes.

"I didn't steal clothing, I'm not that chaotic."

All eyes landed on Aella, who gasped in offense.

"I'm not chaotic!"

Everyone stared at her.

"Okay, so I'm a bit chaotic, but I'm not a clothes stealing gremlin."

Gazes shifted to Lavey.

"Why in the name of Dust would I want your stinky clothing?" Lavey asked, raising an eyebrow. "If anything, it's the overly emotional one that stole it."

Gazes shifted to Jin and Auburn.

"Hey!" Jin snapped. "We're not overly emotional!"

"Yeah!" Auburn agreed.

There were some snickers.

"Fine! If anyone did it, it's the creepy one!" Jin cried.

Gazes shot around the entire room, not landing on anyone in particular.

"That could be anyone!" Crystal snapped.

There was a moment of silence.

"Onto the boys' room!" Aella cheered.

The seven raced down the hall, skidding to a stop when they reached the door.

Lavey threw it open and stepped inside. Her face instantly scrunched up.

"Oh my Dust! How do you live like this?!" she cried, covering her nose.

Jin took a step out of the room and Adolpha scrambled backward.

"What're you talking about?" Aella asked.

"It's disgusting!" Lavey snapped.

"It is?" Auburn and Aella asked together.

Akio groaned.

"I know, I know, but that's Auburn's side. Mine is perfectly clean," Akio said.

"Just tell us what's missing," Adolpha called from outside the room.

"I'm missing my favorite shoes," Akio said with a huff.

"The silver ones?" Adolpha asked.

"Yeah. And Aub can't find his favorite shirt."

"But is that really out of the norm? He's always losing everything," Lavey noted.

"Rude."

"But true," Crystal muttered.

"I always tell the truth, Cy!"

"What about that time with the documentary?" Adolpha asked.

Lavey hesitated.

"Truths were told, lies were spread, confusion was seeded. We don't need to get into the specifics."

Adolpha rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Point is, we're all missing stuff."

"The POINT is that someone stole them," Akio growled.

"Did they?" Lavey asked. "Or did you just 'lose' yours to cover up your thievery?"

"Sounds like something you'd come up with, Lav," Crystal said, eyes narrowed.

"Then why would I say that, Cy, considering if I'd come up with it, it'd be so over your head that you wouldn't even understand the explanation."

Crystal frowned and tried to work through the words.

"Huh?" Crystal finally said.

Lavey smirked and crossed her arms against her chest.

"Exactly."

"She's saying that if she'd done it, she wouldn't explain her plans to us," Adolpha said with an eye roll.

Crystal glowered at the grinning Lavey, who shot her a wink.

"Maybe that's a double bluff," Crystal said, eyes wide.

Lavey rolled her own.

"Didn't think you'd even think of that," Lavey said sufferingly.

"See?! I'm telling you, it was her!" Crystal snapped, pointing at Lavey.

"Please! If it was me, you wouldn't have any proof!" Lavey replied, waving her hand dismissively at the words.

Crystal hesitated for a moment, glancing at her siblings.

"She's... got a point," Akio admitted.

"Or maybe she's doing another double bluff!" Crystal cried.

"Why would I need to do that if I had stolen it without you noticing?" Lavey asked.

"What if-"

"Okay this is going too far!" Adolpha snapped. "You're just trying to shift the blame to Lavey!"

"Which means she did it!" Lavey snapped, gesturing at Crystal, who gasped in offense.

"Did not!"

"Did so-"

"Guys!" Adolpha snapped again. "By that logic, you could say it was anyone here! There's no possible outcome to this that goes well!"

"Pfft! Your semblance doesn't let you see that far into the future!" Aella cried.

"No, but common sense does!" Adolpha replied. "And common sense says that unless we can find proof of who stole them... then there's no point in blaming each other."

There was a moment of silence as everyone considered her words.

"Or...," Akio said slowly, "she's just saying that because she's guilty."

Everyone burst into yelling again, pointing at one another in outrage.

"Kio, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say!" Adolpha snapped.

"Or was it so smart that you can't even understand it?!" Akio cried.

"Definitely not," Jin said.

"Oh, don't get me started about you, Jin!" Aella hissed. "You play this little game of pretending that you're so pure and innocent, but I know it was you!"

"Then prove it, tiny!" Jin snapped, glaring down at her sister.

"Don't make me come up there!" Aella cried, pointing her finger threateningly at Jin.

Meanwhile, Crystal has drawn her rapier and was gesturing with it as she screamed at Lavey.

Lavey shoved her lightly, though that sent Crystal stumbling a few steps.

Lavey then turned and started to accost Akio.

"You keep trying to use logic to solve this, but then derail us with accusations! How do we know it wasn't you?!"

Finally, Auburn reached over to his bed, scrambling over the mess on the floor, and grabbed the air horn that Aunt Nora had given him.

He used it, causing all of them to cover their ears while Adolpha growled.

"Guys!" Auburn snapped. "We're not getting anywhere like this! Adolpha's right! I say we just... pretend this never happened."

"What?!" all six of his siblings cried.

"Think about it!" Auburn yelled over them. "Whoever took them clearly had a reason... and who's to say that reason was bad?! So I say we all just let it go and pretend that nothing happened. Chalk this all up to a... Uh, Kio, what's that word you used?"

"A shared mental breakdown?"

"No, no, the other one."

"Shared delusion?"

"Yes! That's the one! That's what we had! We all woke up this morning and had the weirdest feeling that we had all lost some different piece of clothing and then we all blamed each other, but then the weirdest thing happened! We all found them in the mess right here," Auburn gestured at the floor beneath him, which was disgusting, "and then all of us apologized, and never brought it up again."

There was a moment of silence as the group stood there.

"I'm sorry for blaming you guys," Auburn said.

"I'm sorry," Adolpha said slowly.

"Me too," Akio joined in.

"I'm sorry," Jin added, smiling shyly.

"Sorry," Lavey said, grinning crookedly.

"Sorry for blaming you, Lav," Crystal finally muttered, kicking at the ground awkwardly.

"Is that guilt I sense?" Lavey asked, elbowing her sister.

Crystal glared and opened her mouth to snap at her, but Lavey held up her hands in defense.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding! It's alright, Cy, I'm already forgetting. Why are we here again?"

"Can't remember," Crystal said with a small smirk, already walking out of the room.

"Good job, Aub," Adolpha whispered as all of them started to walk out of the room. "You're good at that, you know."

"What?"

"Mediating."

Adolpha walked out of the room, officially drawing the argument to a close.

But the mystery never was solved, though it was put on the cold cases list, never to be looked at again... even when some hints were seen.

The Auburn Accords held strong and steadfast...

Though perhaps the reason why was not what any outsider would think.

-

Lavey glanced in both directions in the vents to make sure that there was nobody else around before she grinned, opening a spot in the vent and letting a very familiar jacket fall out.

Lavey grabbed it and grabbed Jin's jacket, wrapping it around her entire body so that she was completely surrounded by it. She smiled to herself as she snuggled closer to it, eyes falling shut. It was nice to lay in a jacket like it was a blanket like that...

Lavey hadn't thought Jin would notice, but she had silently switched this jacket out for another of the two identical ones so that she could have her favorite jacket back.

She hadn't mentioned it, so Lavey assumed she hadn't.

-

Auburn looked around him quickly for a moment it before he pulled a box out from under his bed.

He opened it, revealing a pair of silver shoes, which he pulled out quickly.

He grabbed a spray can, shook it, and quickly used its contents on the shoes, painting them green. When he was done, he hid the spray can and then put Akio's shoes, which now looked identical to his own, next to his other pair.

He stood quickly and hurried out of the room with a new pair of green shoes on his side of the room.

-

Crystal pulled a shirt out of the closet. It was a small blue shirt, and its rightful location was in Lavey's section of the closet.

To be fair, Crystal had always been the one that loved blue. It was her Aura color, her favorite color, and all of her shirts were blue underneath her jacket.

And yet... Lavey had two pairs of blue shirts, and Crystal found herself rather... intrigued a few weeks ago. She had taken the shirt for a minute and compared it to her own, and found something interesting. It was a few sizes smaller than her own, and when she wore it, it gave her tail more room to move around. Besides, having stolen something from Lavey always made her smirk, and the shirt had quickly become her favorite.

-

Jin was reaching into the closet one day when she suddenly saw Crystal pulling on a familiar blue shirt.

Jin herself had grabbed a pair of pants, which were shorter than the ones she usually wore, and the pair locked eyes.

Crystal glanced at the pants for a moment while Jin stared at the shirt.

"The accords?" Crystal finally muttered.

Jin nodded quickly.

"No idea what you're talking about," she said before pulling on Adolpha's pants.

They were the same color as Jin's own, she had made sure of that, but it was shorter than any of her other clothes. She liked the pair of pants because they were shorter, which meant she could wear them on warmer days.

Crystal and Jin shared one last look before they hurried out of the room and then in opposite directions.

-

Adolpha knew that the chance of anyone walking into the room was less than one, which was pretty much the lowest it ever got in this house (considering Lavey's inability to be predictable that caused a lot of spiraling effects).

She glanced around despite knowing that nobody else would come in (most likely).

She then reached into the closest and snatched a shirt from the hangers, tugging on a crimson red shirt. She tossed her jacket on top of it, smiling to herself.

She had on Aella's crimson shirt underneath her jacket, and she enjoyed the softness of the shirt, considering Aella was always needing the nicest clothing to be satisfied. She was happy that the Accords had passed, which meant that she never had to return this shirt, lest someone else revealed their own stolen goods.

-

Aella smirked to herself as she pulled on a darkly colored green shirt, enjoying that the shirt was larger than the ones she typically wore.

She was glad that Auburn had passed his Accords.... but she wondered what he would say if he knew she'd grabbed his shirt the night before he did so.

-

Akio didn't wear jackets. He just didn't.

But he thought that this nice gray, formerly navy blue, jacket was nice, and when he started to wear it intermittently, nobody said anything, even though a lot of people looked at him at first.

Nobody could find any evidence that he'd taken Crystal's jacket, and he knew enough of the other thieves that none of them would ever reveal what had happened, not even Crystal herself.

After all, it would be far more embarrassing to her if Lavey ever realized she liked her enough that she didn't mind wearing her shirt quite often.

Especially since Lavey would make fun of her without stop.

-

Yang leaned back, arm wrapped around Weiss, who was snuggled up against Blake's chest, just like Ruby on the Faunus' other side.

"Did you hear about the drama today?" Weiss muttered tiredly.

"About the Accords?" Yang asked, snickering at the word it had been given.

"Yeah."

"I did. Sounds dramatic."

"They learned all about stealing clothes from you three," Blake muttered, yawning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked.

"It means you three still have some of my clothes from way back in our Beacon days, so it's not a surprise that they stole each other's clothes."

"We still have it because your clothes are so comfy," Ruby whispered.

"That's not why."

"It's part of why," Yang muttered.

"But the main reason is that the three of you are obsessed with stealing clothing," Blake whispered.

"Only if it's yours," Ruby replied, placing a quick kiss to the Faunus' lips before snuggling up closer to her and letting her eyes fall shut.

"You steal from Weiss too, don't lie," Blake said with an eye roll.

"She was included in that. We only steal from wives," Yang said dismissively, making Ruby snicker quietly.

"That doesn't seem fair," Blake said, looking to Weiss for support.

"Hey, that was part of what you agreed to when you decided to marry us. 'To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in thievery and snatchery," Weiss muttered.

"Snatchery isn't a word."

"Well when you live with those two long enough," Weiss gestured at Yang and Ruby, "and their children, then you get used to using made you words. Now unless you're going to divorce us over stealing your clothes, shut up and let us get some sleep."

Blake rolled her eyes, but there was a fond smile on her lips as she started to fall asleep beside her wives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crystal: DID YOU SET THAT ON FIRE?!  
> Aella: No.  
> Crystal: YOU JUST CONFESSED FIVE MINUTES AGO!  
> Aella: If all you have is my confession, you'll need more evidence. I'm simply not a credible witness.  
> Adolpha: She's right.  
> -  
> Crystal: Have you ever PICKED UP a textbook?  
> Aella: I mean yeah I threw one at Akio last week.  
> -  
> Aella: It's time for plan B.  
> Adolpha: You have a plan B?  
> Aella: No, but it's certainly time for one.  
> -  
> Lavey: You're stupid.  
> Aella: That's it? That's your insult?  
> Lavey: Give it time. It'll eat at you.  
> *later*  
> Aella: Am I stupid?  
> Crystal: Sometimes, yeah.  
> Aella: Damn her.  
> -  
> Aella: IS LAVEY GONNA LIVE?!  
> Crystal: She just plummeted out of a third story window toward certain doom. Of course she lived!  
> -  
> Aella: *on the phone* Can you pick me up? I'm at a party and someone's funnier than me.  
> -  
> Kidnapper: WE HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER!  
> Weiss: Oh no-Wait... which one?  
> Kidnapper: Uh... short, red hair.  
> Weiss: *laughing* Good luck! *hangs up*  
> *five minutes later*  
> Lavey: *walking into the room, covered in blood* Hey, mom.  
> Weiss: Hey, sweetie!  
> -  
> Lavey: Pass me the pepper.  
> Crystal: What's the magic word?  
> Lavey:  
> Crystal:  
> Lavey: *starts chanting in Latin*  
> Crystal: OH MY DUST JUST TAKE IT!  
> -  
> Crystal: I don't have a potty mouth!  
> *literally two minutes later*  
> Crystal: *bumps into Adolpha* FUCK!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Okay, we have to cut back living expenses. What can we live without?  
> Crystal: Auburn.  
> Adolpha: Crystal, no!  
> -  
> Adolpha: My goal is not to be the best, but to one day inspire someone to be better than I am.  
> Lavey: YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT EVERY TIME I BEAT YOU AT CHESS!  
> -  
> Crystal: You're blocking the view.  
> Aella: I AM the view.  
> Lavey: Yeah, who wouldn't wanna see a car crash?  
> -  
> Lavey: When I was small-  
> Crystal: *snorts* WAS!  
> -  
> Aella: Can I ask a stupid question?  
> Crystal: Better than anyone I know.  
> -  
> Adolpha: Any ideas?  
> Lavey: Well-  
> Adolpha: No arson.  
> Lavey: How about-  
> Adolpha: No murder.  
> Lavey: Then-  
> Adolpha: *looking Lavey straight in the eyes* No kidnapping a corrupt politician and torturing them.  
> Lavey: *throws arms up into the air* THEN I HAVE NO IDEAS!  
> -  
> Aella: The real treasure was the memories we made along the way.  
> Akio: I ALMOST DIED!  
> -  
> Aella: *pushing on a door that clearly says "pull"*  
> Lavey: *filming* Push harder!  
> -  
> Someone: You're very mature for your age.  
> Natalie: Thanks, it's the trauma.


	33. The Norm

The Belladonna-Schnee family was a lot of things.

But "normal" wasn't one of them.

This meant that a few normal things slipped through the gaps of team RWBY's teachings to their children.

For example, until the age of six, all seven children thought that the majority of people were Faunus. They were seven when they realized that some people didn't like Faunus, and they were eight the first time Lavey threatened to beat someone up for their comment toward her Faunus sibling.

They were five when they had the most awkward conversation. Adolpha had been worried and asked why Ruby and Yang didn’t kiss each other or act like they did with Weiss and Blake. Weiss and Blake couldn’t stop laughing while their wives explained that they were sisters.

(“You mean like me and Jin?” Adolpha asked.

“Yes,” Ruby said.

“Or me and Lavey?”

“Like you and all your siblings,” Yang said, holding back an eye roll.

“That’s gross,” Lavey said, sticking out her tongue. She glanced at Crystal. “I’d never kiss you.”

“Thank Dust.”

“Don’t use that word, Crystal,” Weiss said.

“You use it,” Aella pointed out.

“We’re getting off topic,” Yang said. “Point is, we’re sisters, so we don’t kiss. Let’s never talk about this again.”

“Please,” Ruby said.)

They were eight when they learned that most people only married one person instead of multiple, team RWBY blamed family friends for this, considering none of them could just marry one person. Come on! Winter, Penny, Ciel, and Neo couldn't pick up all the slack!

But that was tame compared to the conversation they had when they were almost nine.

"Wait... you have a crush on who?" Adolpha asked, sitting cross legged on the floor across from Crystal.

Crystal flushed.

"David."

"You mean the guy from science?" Lavey asked, frowning.

"Yeah, that guy."

"What's so special about him? Yesterday, I saw him misspell his own name!" Lavey cried.

Crystal glared at her.

"You've fine that!"

"Yeah, when I was five, Cy! My sister isn't going to date some five year old acting idiot," Lavey said, arms crossed.

"But wait... you like a guy?" Adolpha asked, head tilted to the side slightly in confusion.

Crystal flushed again.

"Yeah."

"Wait... girls can like guys?" Jin whispered, but her voice carried over the group.

"I-I think so," Crystal said, twiddling her thumbs.

"Becky from math likes guys," Akio chimed in, hoping to help.

"Yeah, but Becky also has true IQ of a burnt potato and is totally racist," Lavey replied, waving her hand dismissively.

"Yeah, that's why I said I wouldn't go out with her," Akio said, "but she did ask me, so at least some girls like guys, right?"

"Aunt Nora likes guys," Auburn added. "She's married to two of them."

Crystal perked up a bit at those words, sending her brother a small smile.

"Maybe this is what our Moms were talking about the other day," Akio said, frowning. "Like how some people don't like Faunus just because they're Faunus, and some people don't like people because of who they like. Maybe some people just don't like girls who like guys."

Crystal frowned.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Why wouldn't they like Faunus?" Akio replied, shrugging. "The world's weird, Cy."

Crystal sighed and slumped some where she sat on the floor.

"Why don't... why don't people like me? I haven't done anything to them."

Her siblings exchanged worried looks.

"Well...," Lavey scooted closer to her sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I like you."

"Me too!" the others started to chime in, all crawling closer to Crystal.

"And if someone doesn't like you," Lavey said, "then I'll just beat them up!"

"What if they're bigger than you?" Aella asked.

"Everyone's bigger than me, but I won't let that stop me!" Lavey cried excitedly, eyes seeming to glow. “It’s my purpose in life.”

“How is that a purpose in life?” Adolpha asked.

“Beating someone up is a purpose,” Lavey said, shrugging. “That’s what our Moms do at their jobs, right?”

“Yeah. And they teach people how to beat people up,” Jin said.

Lavey beamed.

“Perfect!”

Crystal let out a content sigh, letting her eyes fall shut in her happiness-

“Let’s tell them!” Aella said excitedly.

“Tell who what?” Crystal asked, eyes flashing open.

“Yeah! Let’s tell our moms!” Lavey cried excitedly, tugging Crystal to her feet.

All seven on them clambered through the room and scrambled toward the kitchen.

“Mom! Mom!” Lavey called.

“Yes?” Weiss asked, trying to hold in a sigh as all seven of her children burst into the room. It was always difficult to deal with them all at the same time.

Lavey nudged Crystal, who was looking at the floor uncomfortably.

“You can do it!” Auburn whispered.

Crystal looked up and locked eyes with her mother.

“I like boys.”

“And there’s nothing you can do about it!” Lavey cried, eyes narrowing almost threateningly as she put her hand on Crystal’s shoulder.

Weiss stared at all seven of them blankly for a long minute before she burst out laughing.

“Hey, don’t laugh,” Adolpha said, crossing her arms against her chest as she glared at her mother. “Crystal can like boys if she wants to!”

Weiss collapsed against the counter, laughing loudly.

“Blake, Ruby, Yang! You’ve got to hear this!” she called.

Her three wives came into the room with confusion, glancing at her and their children.

“What is it, Angel?” Ruby asked.

“Just listen!” Weiss said between laughs.

“You can’t do anything about it!” Lavey snapped, grabbing Crystal’s hand in her own defensively.

“Yeah! We don’t care that she likes boys!” Akio cried, causing Aella and Adolpha to cheer.

Yang, Ruby, and Blake started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?!” Lavey snapped, glancing at her sister, who started to fold in on herself.

“There’s nothing wrong with Crystal liking boys,” Blake said. She had been the first to regain her composure. “In fact, most girls do, and most guys like girls.”

“They do?” Akio and Auburn asked, frowning.

“Yes,” Blake said, shaking her head and fighting a laugh. “You know how we had to explain that not everyone is polygamous last month?”

They nodded.

“Well not many girls like girls, and not many boys like boys,” Blake said.

Adolpha frowned.

“But there’s nothing wrong with that either!” Ruby chimed in quickly.

“Yeah, I think they get that, Rubes,” Yang said with an eye roll, gesturing at the four of them as if you show how unnecessary that comment had been.

Ruby elbowed her sister.

“So it’s like the Faunus thing?” Akio asked.

Their mothers nodded.

“That’s weird,” Lavey muttered.

Adolpha nodded in agreement.

Lavey then shrugged.

“Eh, doesn’t matter which is less common, I still get to beat up people who are rude, and that’s really what this is about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aella: What're you gonna do?! Stab me?!  
> Crystal:  
> *later*  
> Aella: *clutching her knife wound* I shouldn't have asked.  
> -  
> Lavey: Good work team.  
> Adolpha: We didn't do anything.  
> Lavey: We started a war. That's something.  
> Aella: YOU started a war!  
> Lavey: *ignoring explosions in the background* That was definitely a team effort.  
> -  
> Weiss: I see myself as a kind, loving mother.  
> Aella: *reaches toward kitchen knife*  
> Weiss: *not looking up* Aella, if you so much as touch that knife, you'll get a matching prosthetic with Yang.  
> Aella: *inches away from the knife*  
> -  
> Crystal: Studying? Haha, more like student dying, amiright?  
> Adolpha:... Are you okay?  
> Crystal: I haven't slept in 103 hours.  
> -  
> Crystal: Ah, what a peaceful afternoon.  
> *loud screaming from her siblings outside*  
> Crystal: Oh no! I better do something about that! *closes the door to her room* Ah, that's MUCH quieter!  
> -  
> Blake: What do you want for breakfast?  
> Lavey: I WISH TO DEVOUR THE UNBORN!  
> Blake: Eggs, coming right up.  
> -  
> Yang: And what do we say if someone tries us?  
> Lavey: I think the fuck not you trick ass bitch.  
> Yang: *sniffling* I'm so proud.  
> -  
> Aella: I tried watermelon in pizza. Honestly? Pretty good.  
> Crystal: That's her, officer, that's the one. Take the shot before she gets away.  
> -  
> Crystal: Not everything I say is sarcastic.  
> Akio: That... sounded sarcastic.  
> Crystal: THAT'S JUST MY VOICE OKAY?!  
> -  
> Lavey: *about to attack someone*  
> Crystal: Lav, violence is never the answer.  
> *five minutes later*  
> Crystal: *holding her sword to someone's neck*  
> Lavey:...  
> -  
> Blake: This is a no smoking facility. And you three are SMOKING, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave... with me. *winks*  
> Ruby and Weiss: *giggle* Aw, that was so cute!  
> Yang: OH COME ON!  
> -  
> Yang: Wake up.  
> Lavey: No. sleep time. Sleep good.  
> Yang: Get up or I'll throw water on you.  
> Lavey: You wouldn't.  
> Crystal: *walking by, drenched* She would.  
> -  
> Adolpha: We can't kill people!  
> Lavey: Not with that attitude we can't!  
> -  
> Aella: The Zodiac killer never confessed, so why do I have to?!  
> -  
> Alea: *jokingly* And remember, don't fall in love with me. *winks*  
> Syntheia: *scoffs* Not a problem.  
> *later*  
> Syntheia: *bursting in to talk to Terresa, Lexey, and Stacey* WE HAVE A PROBLEM!  
> -  
> Team ORIN and team ATLSS: *breathe*  
> Ruby: Here's a phone, you're on the family plan.  
> -  
> Akio: Science fact: the world around you is made up of electrons, protons, and morons.  
> Crystal: Thank you for the science fact of the day, Kio.  
> -  
> Jin: *gasping* Lav, you just gave that man the finger!  
> Lavey: Correction, I'm STILL giving that man the finger.  
> -  
> Nora: Healer says I got four days to live.  
> Pyrrha: What happened?!  
> Nora: Nothing, he just doesn't like me much.  
> Jaune: I WILL FUCK YOU UP ON FRIDAY!  
> Nora: TRY ME!  
> -  
> Lavey: I am one of the most skilled, dangerous creatures in the universe.  
> Adolpha: Is... is your hand stuck in a vending machine?  
> Lavey: I paid for my skittles and I am gETTING MY SKITTLES!  
> -  
> Crystal: *not looking up* Aella, when's your next doctor's appointment? Cause those people are gonna have to surgically remove my foot FROM UP YOUR ASS IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Why did you get arrested?  
> Aella: No clue!  
> Crystal: The police officer asked you for "papers" and you yelled "scissors!" and drove off!  
> -  
> Lavey: You're so tall. You should play basketball.  
> Jin: *deeply offended* You're short, maybe you should play mini golf!  
> -  
> Lavey: Are you ticklish?  
> Adolpha: *taking ten steps backwards* Not at all.  
> -  
> Jin: Lav, watch out! Someone you don't like is coming!  
> Lavey: THAT COULD BE ANYONE, JIN!  
> -  
> Adolpha: Are you the kind of person that jumps the gun on things-  
> Aella: No.  
> Adolpha: Hang on it's multiple choice.  
> -  
> Adolpha: What would you do if you found a locked door?  
> Akio: Find the key.  
> Aella: Pick the lock.  
> Lavey: Kick the door down.  
> Jin: You know... you can try knocking...  
> -  
> Crystal: I have the sharpest memory. Name one time I've forgotten something.  
> Aella: Last week you forgot me at the grocery store.  
> Crystal: That was on purpose, try again.


	34. A Brief Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just all known OC Semblances for convenience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I have a "chapter".  
> No I will not be writing anything important.  
> Yes I'm watching Firefly.

ATLSS:

Alea: Passively alters how others perceive her; can be terrifying when actively applied.

Terresa: Rocks. Also presumably dirt.

Lexey: Can shut off her emotions, similar to Ren but has the added bonus of shielding her from oracular or manipulative Semblances.

Stacey: Invisible.

Syntheia: Can see the immediate future, but is not infallible.

ORIN:

Oscar: Bubbles. Fighting bubbles?

Rachel: Can "store" qualities for later use; strength, speed, intelligence, etc.

Ivy: She knows stuff. All the stuff. Everything. Mind reading except not exactly, future sight, basic understanding of the universe, all that.

Natalie: Fire. Generates heat and flame, tends to accidentally set nearby objects and people on fire when she's embarrassed (which happens frequently)

The S.E.V.E.N.:

Adolpha: Can see different potential futures and their relative probabilities.

Jin: All incoming damage is halved. (seems OP, plz nerf)

Akio: Can teleport.

Aella: Wind manipulation.

Crystal: Glyphs (like Weiss).

Lavey: Can absorb kinetic energy and then use it later.

Auburn: Is capable of duplicating and sharing the Semblances of willing participants amongst all those... um, participating. How this interfaces with mind-altering chemicals or Semblances is currently unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't look SUPER hard, but I couldn't really find anything on Oscar's Semblance except ONE fight, so I don't have much info on that.  
> Also if I forgot anyone important let me know and I'll add them.  
> Also, if anyone can come up with a good acronym for SEVEN, tell me because that would be awesome.
> 
> Here's the unedited bit I pulled from the email Hester sent me:  
> For the seven, I had foreshadowing for their semblances in the Vytal Festival and other characters to perfect and parallel the semblances I picked for them.
> 
> Adolpha -> Syntheia  
> Jin -> Alea  
> Akio -> Stacey slightly (considering they both “disappear”)  
> Aella -> Daniella (team DRGN)  
> Crystal -> Weiss (I mean... Duh)  
> Lavey -> Rachel  
> Auburn -> Holly (fought Ivy and Natalie in doubles round)


	35. The Ferns

Rachel wasn't exactly a... well-mannered individual. She was, in almost everyone's opinion, the opposite of that, in fact, which is why everyone was staring at her in shock.

Rachel was wearing a nice white long-sleeve shirt that was just shy of being a blouse, and it was matched rather well with a blue skirt that she had pulled from the depths of her closet.

Natalie was outright gaping at her girlfriend, and even Ivy's eyes had become focused as she watched Rachel standing there.

"What?!" Rachel snapped, feeling rather self conscious as she looked at her girlfriends and friends, all of which were watching her intently.

"What are you wearing?!" Lexey finally cried, breaking the silence that team ATLSS and RIN had held for the past five minutes.

Natalie was drawn from her thoughts at the loud words and reached into her pocket, grabbing her scroll.

She was unashamed to admit that she had taken a picture of her girlfriend.

Rachel flushed.

"What does it look like, Lex?! And delete that. Now!"

Natalie grinned.

"No way! Oscar deserves to see this!" Natalie cried, sensing the picture to their team leader as she spoke.

"Haha, very funny," Rachel said dryly, face still a light shade of pink as she shifted uneasily.

"Why are you dressed up?" Ivy asked, her head tilting slightly to the side in her confusion.

"Because I have to visit my parents today."

Everyone stared at her blankly.

"Which means that I have to pretend I went to that boarding school... do you guys even listen when I talk?!" Rachel accosted them.

"Yeah, but... we never really knew if you were serious about that," Alea said. "Ives didn't want to check and invade your privacy, so we just kind of thought you were joking."

"What?" Rachel snapped.

"To be fair," Natalie started hesitantly, "I didn't believe that anyone would believe you were straight."

Terresa snorted and started to laugh, but the glare from Rachel caused her to stop cold in her tracks.

"Well, they do, and I'm not ready to tell them that their little perfect angel is actually an annoying loud mouth that goes to Beacon Academy and has two girlfriends, so if any of you want to come and visit, you're going to have to dress up too."

Natalie recoiled.

"But...," Natalie looked like she was having the greatest dilemma of her life. She wanted to meet Rachel's parents, after all, they had been going out for a long time now, but...

She had never dressed up before, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to do so now.

On the other hand... Rachel looked like she needed some emotional support if she was going to go see her parents again, and as her girlfriend, Natalie was required to do that job, right?

Rachel smirked up at her girlfriend, suddenly looking like the girl Natalie and Ivy had fallen for.

"So, who's in?"

-

Not two hours later, the two teams were changed and ready to go.

Natalie was awkwardly standing in a simple, yet nice, dress, which Rachel had expertly cut holes into for her wings. It ruined the dress for anyone else, but Rachel refused any attempt that Natalie made to offer taking her prosthetics off.

"That's so not fair," Syntheia muttered, glancing at her teammates/girlfriends, who she thought all looked stunning.

She was surprised to find that all four of them were staring at her, and Syntheia shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" she asked, reaching one hand up to rub the back of her neck. She wondered if there was something on her face...

"You look great," Alea said suggestively, but Syntheia knew by now that it was really just her being excited about the whole situation.

Syntheia flushed, rolling her eyes.

She was about to respond, likely with something sarcastic, but Stacey, Terresa, and Lexey said their agreement almost instantly, all of them looking over her with differing smiles.

Syntheia glanced at Alea, who was still staring at her face with that smirk of hers.

"Why are they staring at me?" she mouthed, making sure that "they" wouldn't hear her, but Alea would be able to read her lips.

"Because you look beautiful, Syn," Alea replied as if it was common knowledge.

Syntheia turned a darker shade of red and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered, turning around awkwardly. "Let's just go."

Surprisingly, Rachel's house wasn't too far from the Belladonna-Schnee residence, and the two teams got there fairly quickly.

"Remember, we got to Southland Boarding School and we're all very engrossed in our studies," Rachel said.

"Which are?" Syntheia questioned.

"Table manners, etiquette, and glorified rich husband trapping."

Her friends and girlfriends stared at her.

Rachel shrugged.

"Hey, it's not like I chose what my parents want me to do, I just pretend to do it."

With that, Rachel turned and raised her fist, knocking on the door a few times.

After a moment, it opened to reveal a small woman in an extravagant dress, who let out a squeal of excitement.

"Rachie!" she cried, grabbing Rachel in a tight hug.

Natalie grinned like an idiot, and Rachel glared at her.

"No," she mouthed.

Natalie's smile just widened.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, and...," the woman, presumably Rachel's mom, trailed off and stared at team ORIN and ATLSS, "oh, are these the friends that you mentioned?"

Rachel nodded, pulling herself out of the hug.

"Yes. Mom, this is Natalie," the bat faunus had her wings pulled tightly against her back so as to take up as little room as possible on the porch, and she beamed in excitement, "Ivy," Ivy just tilted her head slightly to the side and forced her gaze to stay focused, giving her a small smile that she hoped was friendly, "Alea," the team leader gave her a flirtatious smirk and a wink, "Stacey," Stacey was the only one who seemed to have an appropriate greeting, giving her a friendly smile and a curtsy, "Terresa," Terresa gave her a crooked grin, "Lexey," Lexey waved in excitement, "and Syntheia," Syntheia awkwardly smiled, glancing at her girlfriends and trying to see what they had done. She quickly copied Stacey, though her curtsy was far sloppier.

Rachel's mother, Veronica, glanced at them all before looking at Rachel, who gave her a small smile.

"Can we come in?" Rachel asked, hoping that her mother wouldn't mention how... different her friends were than she had expected.

"Right! Right, of course! Come in, come in! Rachie has told me all about you, especially you, Ivy and Natalie."

Natalie tried to smile kindly instead of smirking like she wanted to.

"Oh, that sounds just like Rachie, doesn't it?" Natalie said.

Rachel glowered darkly at her.

"Stop it," she mouthed.

"Never," Natalie mouthed back with a mischievous grin.

Rachel scowled, but stopped when her mother turned to face her.

"So how are your studies going?"

"They're-"

"They're great!" Alea jumped in with a smirk. "Rachel's really doing well in class, especially," she hesitated, wracking her brain for the name of the class, but due to her Semblance it seemed purposeful, "etiquette."

"She is? Well that's wonderful! Rachie has always had trouble with that."

"Our Rachie?" Alea laughed quietly, impossibly perfect for the situation. "I find that hard to believe. She's top of the class."

Rachel glanced at her mother, who was watching Alea with eyes that seemed to say that Alea was the pinnacle of the perfect daughter.

"Besides you and Stacey, of course, Alea," Rachel said quickly, knowing that her being the top of the class was unrealistic.

Alea frowned and was about to contradict, but Syntheia reached out and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from speaking.

"Oh, Ally, you are always so humble. That's why you've got boys all over you constantly," Syntheia said, if only to remind Alea of the role she was playing.

Alea nodded just slightly at Syntheia and shot her a conspiratorial wink.

"Oh, they're not all over me, Syn."

Terresa smirked.

"Oh they definitely are."

Alea was suddenly wondering if they were talking about something else, or if they had a double meaning to this.

She didn't get an answer as they were herded to the sitting room.

Rachel's mother started to hand out teacups and several of them glanced at each other.

Alea was the first to reach out and grab her teacup, grabbing it like any other cup, but Stacey reach out quickly and grabbed her hand to stop her. She subtly showed her how to hold one correctly, and Alea shot her an appreciative smile before picking it up the same way.

Rachel noticed that her mother was watching her friends with narrowed eyes, but she watched Alea with a fond expression, as if the team leader was the perfect daughter that had ever existed.

"So how are your studies, Alea?" she asked.

Alea hesitated. It was still weird for Rachel to watch Alea's true personality coming through her actions, but she knew she wouldn't be able to tell if she hadn't seen the girl with her Aura broken.

"They're great, Mrs. Vine. Your daughter is doing very well too, and she's helped me study a lot as well-"

"She has?"

Alea nodded with a small smirk as she took a sip of her tea.

She must be thinking that she was doing great. She was very convincing, at least.

Rachel hastily finished the visit before Alea became her adoptive sister.

Once team ORIN and ATLSS were shepherded outside, her mother stopped Rachel.

"Your friends are... interesting."

"They're very good people," Rachel said, trying not to get defensive.

Her mother hummed, causing Rachel to grind her teeth.

"I'm not so sure about most of them, but Alea and Stacey seem like very nice girls."

"So are Ivy and Natalie," Rachel said before she could stop herself.

"As you've told me several times... but perhaps you should focus on becoming better friends with those two instead."

Rachel took a deep breath.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rachel walked out of the house quickly, all but stalking.

She snatched onto Natalie and Ivy's hands as soon as they were out of sight.

Natalie Nd Ivy both frowned worriedly.

"You alright?" Natalie whispered.

Ivy tightened her grip on Rachel's hand, sending comfort and calmness in waves toward her.

"Can... can you just fly us back home?" Rachel whispered. She didn't sound like the typical Rachel, who was confident and composed.

Instead, she sounded broken and defeated.

Natalie glanced back at the house, looking like she wanted to burn it down.

Ivy shook her head.

Natalie growled before she turned back to Rachel.

"Yeah, of course. We'll see you five back at the house."

She grabbed both of her girlfriends before she flapped her wings and took off into the air.

Rachel let herself just be held by her girlfriends and comforted by the idea that, one day, maybe things would change with her family.

But until then, she had these two, and that...

That was more than enough for now. And perhaps it always would be.


	36. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your resident crack ship, poly loving, pollination, OC creating writer is BACK from vacation, and is ready to start things off with not one, not two, but THREE chapters, complete with end quotes! You guys ready? Cause I missed you!!

It's not that they were stupid, in fact, this might just show the intelligence of Akio's siblings, but he still couldn't stand it.

Lavey had been the first to attempt it, as she always the first to attempt a new way at messing with her siblings, but she definitely wasn't the only one that did it, and she was, perhaps, not even the most successful when it came to this.

-

Lavey was lounging on the couch, which in and of itself was rather odd, considering it was still midday, and she was usually difficult to find at that time. She was typically in the vents or skulking around the house without being seen by their parents.

Instead, she had on a smug smirk as she tossed her feet up onto the edge of the couch, propping them up with ease.

"Lav, you know you're not supposed to-"

"Before you finish," Lavey cut in with a bored tone, but her smirk showed she was anything but, "answer me one question."

Akio hesitated.

"What?" he asked slowly, as if he was worried that she was going to catch him in a trap or expose some misdeed he'd done.

It was a good instinct, but it didn't save him.

"Is Schrödinger's cat dead or alive?" she asked.

Akio froze.

"What?" he asked finally.

Lavey's eyes were no longer focused on him, and she was idly laying on the couch without any care in the world.

"You know, Scrödinger's cat. You've talked about him enough to know the answer by now, don't you?"

"Well, that's just the thing! There's no answer to that question! You might as well ask if a tree falling in the forest with nobody around makes a sound!"

"Does it?" Lavey asked.

Akio frowned further, staring at Lavey with disbelief.

"Well, while you think about that, I'm going to the kitchen. Tell me if you come up with the answers!"

Lavey rolled out of her seat and then darted over to the nearest vent, sliding in and then scrambling in the general direction of the kitchen without looking back.

Akio could hear Lavey's laughter echoing through the house as he continued to think about her questions.

He'd entirely forgotten what he'd been about to tell her.

-

Lavey looped an arm around Aella's shoulders with a smirk, pulling her sister down some.

"I'm telling you, works like a charm."

"Does it? Or is it like what you said last time about Crystal?" Aella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's because I owed her a favor," Lavey said, waving her hand dismissively. "This one's the real deal. Dust, you'd think he was a robot malfunctioning. And not a good robot like Aunt Pen!"

Lavey started to laugh and Aella seemed a bit excited at the idea.

"What do I owe you for it?" Aella asked.

"You know the going price."

"If, and I mean **if** , this works, then you'll get your payment," Aella said.

"Oh it'll work, and then you'll feel real stupid for doubting me," Lavey said. "Not that you'll feel much different from usual."

"Jerk," Aella said with a laugh, bumping against Lavey before stepping out from her sister's grasp.

"You know it!"

-

Aella was standing in the kitchen and looking at her meat contemplatively when Akio walked in.

"What's wrong w it h you?" he asked.

"Is this meat vegetarian?" Aella questioned, turning her confused gaze on her brother.

Akio paused.

"What?"

"Is this meat vegetarian? I've been thinking about becoming one," Aella elaborated.

Akio gaped at her.

"What?! Of course it's not vegetarian! I mean... well, it's from a cow, which is a vegetarian presumably, considering that they're herbivores, but... b-but you **love** meat! There's no way you want to be a vegetarian!"

"What's that have to do with being a vegetarian?" Aella asked, fighting off a grin that was trying to form on her lips.

"What does it... everything! It has EVERYTHING to do with it, Aella!" Akio snapped, throwing his hands up in the air with frustration.

He started to pace back and forth while ranting about vegetarianism and what it meant and why meat couldn't be vegetarian and this and that.

Aella slipped out of the kitchen slowly, peeking in through the doorway a few minutes later to see if he was still ranting.

He was.

Aella grinned and hurried away, finding Lavey waiting for her in the living room, sprawled out on the couch again with her feet propped up on the back while her head hung from the front precariously.

"What are you, Aunt Nat?" Aella asked with a snort.

Lavey, who was still hanging upside down, pulled her scroll out of her pocket, tapping a few times in quick succession.

A moment later, Crystal's familiar voice came from the device.

"That's racist."

"It's not racist if it's accurate," Aella said before she opened her gliders. "Besides, it doesn't matter if I say it."

Lacey rolled her eyes, glancing at her sister.

"What're you doing here?"

"It worked."

"Course it did! I'm amazing," Lavey said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now pay up."

Aella grumbled before she reached into her cloak, pulling out her wallet and flipping through.

After a minute, she paused over two Akio favors, a Lavey, and a Jin.

Lavey snorted.

"What?" Aella snapped.

"That's not what I want, dummy."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want three Crystals, and that," Lavey snatched one of her own favors out of Aella's collection, "little beauty right there."

"No way!" Aella snapped, reaching to take back the favor out of Lavey's hand, but she failed. "Crystals are way too rare nowadays!"

"Too bad, hand 'em over," Lavey said, arms crossed as she looked at her sister, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

Aella was about to challenge, she really was. She thought that _maybe_ with Jin at her side, the two of them would be able to take Lavey down. That was the only way to get out of a trade: beating your sibling in a spar, and Aella knew that it'd have to be doubles for her to beat Lavey.

But... Lavey was a collector, which meant that she had favors from everyone.

Including Auburn and Adolpha.

That meant that Lavey would undoubtedly win...

Aella sighed in frustration, glaring at her sister.

"You little rat," she muttered, whipping out three Crystal favors and passing them over to Lavey.

"Thank you, your business is much appreciated," Lavey said in a smug tone.

"Wish I could say the same. You're a jerk, ya know that?" Aella muttered.

"I just got a bunch of favors for telling you a way to exploit the weaknesses of our dear brother. Of course I know that!" Lavey cried before raising her hand and waving it. "Now shoo, I have other things to attend to."

Aella rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room. When she was gone, Lavey vaulted over the back of the couch and slithered into the vents with a small laugh.

-

Crystal was reading a book when a head popped out of the vent.

"Son of a b-"

Before Crystal could finish, Lavey reached her hand out and clapped it over her mouth.

"Now now, what did Momma Weiss day about cursing?" Lavey asked playfully.

"She said, and I quote, 'cursing is damn wrong.'"

"True, but the sentiment is still important."

Lavey flipped out of the vent and landed on Crystal's lap with a self-satisfied smirk.

Crystal glared at her irritably, but her tail began to wag a bit in the slow way that cats often did when they were silently pleased.

"So?"

"So why?" Lavey asked with a grin.

"Did you get them or not?"

"Now now," Lavey reached her hand into pocket and pulled out four favors, which she brandished in front of Crystal, "patience is a virtue, dear sister."

"One which you lack," Crystal replied, reaching forward and grabbing the favors. She unceremoniously ripped them apart before tossing the unrecognizable remnants into her trash bin.

"True," Lavey said with a slow smirk that stretched across her face, "but you should be more thankful! After all, I was originally planning to do this on my own before I included you. You're welcome."

Crystal rolled her eyes sufferingly, but her hand had come forward to rest itself on Lavey's stomach.

"On your own?! Please! There's no way you could have accomplished this on your own!"

Lavey gasped and put a hand to her chest.

"Words can hurt, you know."

"That's why I said them."

Lavey snorted.

"Fair enough. But that was a really good idea you had with Aella. Should have known she'd pay just about anything to have information on a weakness."

"Including all of our favors?" Crystal asked.

"I told you that was all she had, didn't I?" Lavey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Crystal nodded.

"And I meant it too! Now calm yourself down."

"How do you know for sure?" Crystal asked, her tail landing on Lavey's waist.

"Because I counted them, Cy."

"We should take you gambling some day, have you count cards."

"Sounds like a great bonding exercise," Lavey said with a wry grin.

"Speaking of, I've got some ideas for Jin."

"Ooh! She has _quite_ a few of your favors," Lavey said with a smirk.

"And whose fault is that?"

"What did you want me to do?! She had an **Adolpha** favor for trade, Cy! You know I can't say no to that! Plus, this was before the plan."

"You already have, like, twenty Adolpha favors."

"And I got those by never saying no to a trade."

Crystal rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips.

"That's your life motto, isn't it?"

"Obviously."

Crystal laughed and shook her head, leaning back against the wall.

"You think this is really going to work?" Crystal asked after a moment, sounding a bit worried.

"Oh Cy, sweet, stupid, innocent Cy," Crystal smacked Lavey, but there was no real malice to the action, "it's **already** working. There's nothing they can do to stop it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter: You deserve a reward for putting up with me.  
> Penny: You are my reward, Wife Winter!  
> *meanwhile*  
> Neo: *signing* You deserve a reward for putting up with me.  
> Ciel: Darn right I do, you can be a real pain.  
> -  
> Aella: What's it like being tall?  
> Jin: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb 4 chairs, 2 boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.  
> Aella: We all live in constant fear of Lavey, you're not special.  
> -  
> Syntheia: I've been dropping subtle hints that I like her.  
> Alea: *walks in*  
> Syntheia: *blushing* Go away!  
> -  
> Ivy: Hi, my name's Ivy, and you are?  
> Natalie: *blushing* Not as straight as I thought apparently.  
> -  
> Stacey: Alea, I want you.  
> Alea: Want me to what?  
> Stacey:  
> Alea:  
> Stacey:  
> Alea: Oh, did you forget what you were going to say? I do that ALL the time!  
> -  
> Terresa: Al, I don't know how to tell you this, but... you're in love with us.  
> Alea: I am?  
> Stacey:  
> Terresa:  
> Lexey:  
> Syntheia:  
> Alea: Oh my Dust! I am!!!  
> Rachel: *who had been in the room the whole time* WHAT KIND OF CONFESSION DID I JUST WITNESS-  
> -  
> Ivy: *praying* I need people who understand me, so send me the nicest teammates you've got.  
> Natalie and Rachel: *evil laughter in the background*  
> -  
> Lavey: IT'S MY BODY, I CAN DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT!  
> Crystal: Fair enough, but it's been sitting in the corner for hours and it's starting to stink up the place, can you move it?  
> Lavey: *gestures at dead body* IT'S MY BODY-  
> -  
> Crystal: I am going to remind you in advance that I am very sorry and apologize for the inconvenience of me not giving a FUCK!  
> -  
> Sun: I'm going to need you all to be straight with me here.  
> Yang: That's going to be very hard for almost everyone here.  
> -  
> Winter: *looking at pictures of Penny on her scroll* There she is. The love of my life.  
> Ciel: How did she manage to blink in all 1,000 of those photos?  
> -  
> Neo: *signing* If I could change the order of the alphabet, then I'd put U and I together.  
> Ciel: No you wouldn't. You'd put S, E, and X together and then laugh about it for hours.  
> -  
> Crystal: I'm bisexual, but I hate everyone, so more like... byesexual.  
> -  
> Adolpha: Why are you smiling?  
> Crystal: Can't I just be happy?  
> Lavey: *grinning* Auburn fell down the stairs.  
> Crystal: *bursts out laughing*  
> -  
> Rosemary: ALRIGHT! Your strongest versus our strongest!  
> Adolpha: Or... OR! Your idiot versus our idiot.  
> Rosemary:... alright. Colby, get over here.  
> Colby: Me?! What?! Asshole!  
> Adolpha: Aella, you're up!  
> Aella: HECK YEAHHH! My time to SHINE!  
> -  
> Alea: Wait, you like me? I thought you were straight.  
> Stacey: I've never been more insulted-  
> -  
> Yang: Why did they get detention?  
> Teacher: Your daughter Lavey threw a lamp at another student and Crystal screamed "THAT'S BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP!"  
> Yang: I've never been prouder.  
> -  
> Ivy: Yes! Uno!  
> Natalie: Babe, we're playing candy land-  
> Alea: DRAW TWO!  
> Natalie: No, wait-  
> Ivy: DANG IT!  
> Natalie: Stop-  
> Rachel: *puts hand on Natalie's shoulder* Hold on, I wanna see where this goes.  
> -  
> Nobody:  
> Ciel: Mama, I'm in love with a criminal.  
> Neo: *winks*  
> -  
> Lavey: Am I the best sister I could be? No. But do I work harder everyday to be better? Also no.  
> Crystal: Bullshit.  
> -  
> Neo: *signing* Will you marry me?  
> Ciel: Is that a ring pop?  
> Neo: *on the verge of tears* Is that a no?  
> -  
> Weiss and Ruby: *kiss*  
> Crystal: Right in front of my salad?!  
> -  
> Crystal: I should tell Lavey to kill you-  
> Lavey: *from the other room* Who?  
> Crystal: I was just jokin-  
> Lavey: *weapon in hand* No, seriously, who's bothering you?!  
> -  
> Crystal: Oh, Adolpha did the dishes.  
> Aella: What? What makes you think I didn't?  
> Crystal: When all of the knives were dirty, I once watched you cut your bagel with a pair of car keys.


	37. The Pie

Ruby was wrapped in Blake's arms tightly, Weiss' hand on her arm consolingly.

"H-how could someone just...," Ruby trailed off, sniffling.

"Shh, it's okay, we'll figure it out," Blake promised, leaning down and pressing a kiss on top of Ruby's head.

She glanced at Weiss and Yang, who both nodded.

They both immediately turned to look at the seven in front of them, glaring darkly with their arms crossed.

"Which one of you little jerks did it?" Yang asked.

"What makes you think we did it?!" Lavey snapped. "You're the one that always pigs out when Momma Ruby makes pies!"

Ruby clutched Blake tighter.

"They were going to be so delicious...," she said wistfully, sniffling.

"I'm sure they were," Blake replied gently, running a hand up and down her back.

"Hey!" Yang snapped. "I didn't steal them, but I know one of you did!"

"What makes you say that?" Akio asked. "Statistically speaking, the most common culprit is the spouse, so you should really be interrogating Momma Blake and Weiss."

"Leave then out of this mess!" Ruby wailed.

"Since when do you defend your siblings?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"Please!" Aella said with an eye roll. "Akio is a rule follower, you don't have to worry about _him_ having done this!"

Weiss rounded on Aella.

"Is that guilt I hear?"

"Definitely not," Lavey said, speaking with the exaggerated drawl she always got when she was smug. "Aella doesn't _get_ guilt. Like, ever. Besides, she was in the kitchen watching all afternoon. You can check the baby monitors that Momma Blake never uninstalled."

"How do you know about those?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Oh please!" Adolpha waved her hand dismissively. "You're not exactly _subtle_ with them."

Yang frowned.

"Since when do you care about this nonsense?" she asked.

"Since you started harassing my little siblings," Adolpha replied, arms crossed as she looked up at Yang. "Unjustifiably, might I add, considering you don't have any proof that any of us stole the pies."

"Yeah! None of this would hold up in a court of law, right, Lav?" Aella said.

Lacey nodded, smirking.

"Lavey, you've been awfully quiet today," Weiss said, "that's not very like you. Got something you're hiding?"

"I always do," Lavey said with a little laugh, "but it has nothing to do with the two missing pies."

"Three!" Ruby wailed.

"Three missing pies, my mistake," Lavey said.

Yang and Weiss still looked suspicious.

"She was out back training with me today, you can check the cameras out back," Crystal said with a scoff. "She was too busy sparring to have done anything."

"You're defending Lavey?" Yang asked, eyebrow raised in suspicioun. "That's odd."

"Is it?" Crystal asked with an eye roll, her tail twitching irritably behind her. "I can be a mediocre sister at times."

Lavey snorted and sent Crystal an amused look.

"How about you, Auburn? You've always had a sweet tooth," Weiss said with a glare.

"I was working on my homework with Akio today," Auburn said.

"We have a science project due tomorrow that he just finished," Akio said with an eye roll.

"Weren't those assigned three weeks ago?" Adolpha asked.

Akio nodded while their brother smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, I got it done!" Auburn defended.

"First time for everything," Lavey muttered.

Auburn glared at her while Aella burst out laughing.

"So we're supposed to believe that _none_ of you did it?" Weiss asked, her disbelief evident in her tone.

"Is it too much to ask for you to believe the truth?" Lavey asked.

Weiss glared at her.

"What about you, Jin?" Yang asked. "What were you doing?"

Jin looked shocked that Yang had decided to question her.

"Me? I was just hanging out today. Adolpha and I talked and sat in the living room for a while and then we went to check on Crystal because we al know that Lavey plays too rough-"

"Do not!" Lavey cried. All of her siblings looked at her and Lavey scowled, arms crossing defensively against her chest. "You're all just too breakable. That's not my fault."

"Anyways, then I went to talk with Aella in the kitchen, I wanted to make sure that she had done her science project because it's due tomorrow, but she was busy with Momma Ruby, so I let them be," Jin continued, shrugging. "Then, before I knew what was happening, I was in here getting yelled at for no reason."

"And what about you?" Weiss asked, rounding on Adolpha. "Where were you while Jin was in the kitchen?"

"I was talking to Auburn and Akio about the science project," Adolpha said.

"She was lecturing me about getting my homework done earlier," Auburn said, smiling shyly.

Adolpha nodded, her ear twitching as she continued to hear Ruby's over dramatic laments about her pies.

The interrogations go on for a further half hour, and soon the seven are separated and made to recount their stories on their own.

None of them varied, and the cameras even showed the truth to their stories.

There was one detail that confused team RWBY.

On the camera for the kitchen, the pies aren't seen.

This was just odd because, typically, the camera did show the part of the kitchen, but when the camera was examined, it was just slightly off, as if it had been moved, but nothing on the recording showed anyone moving it.

Finally, after a lengthy examination and interrogation of each of the seven, the four members of team RWBY had to let them go.

They just had nobody to blame, and, thus, Ruby's pies and their disappearance was left as a mystery.

(Comment here who you think did it before continuing!)  
_/_

_Adolpha awoke to the smell of pies._

_Ruby was making them._

_She pushed herself out of bed and glanced at Jin, who had also slept in._

_They, like all of their family, loved Ruby's pies. Ruby couldn't cook, but she could_ **_bake_ ** _, perhaps because of how much she loved sweets. Maybe that was why all seven of her children had a bit of a sweet tooth._

_Adolpha would have been excited, but Yang and Ruby always ended up eating the majority of the pies..._

_And Adolpha had had enough._

_That was a surprising sentiment from the eldest of the seven, but it was true regardless._

_And today, she was going to do something about the imbalance._

_She reached out and grabbed Jin's hand and started to tug her out of the bedroom._

_"What're we doing?" Jin asked, yawning._

_"Going to have a talk with Lavey."_

_/_

_"So the perfect Adolpha wants help from little old me?" Lavey drawled, leaning forward on her weapon and smirking up at her older sister. "What could she possibly want, Cy? And something that she isn't going to pay for with_ **_favors_ ** _? Color me intrigued."_

_Crystal rolled her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest, clearly annoyed that their sparring session had been stopped suddenly, but probably also thankful, considering her breathing was a bit ragged as she watched her siblings._

_"I want to steal the pies."_

_Lavey's eyes widened in shock, her smile dropping as she stared at Adolpha in disbelief._

_"You want to_ **_steal_ ** _? And Mom's pies?! My, my, I must say, I didn't expect that from you."_

_Adolpha didn't respond, just staring down at her._

_"What's in it for me?" Lavey asked. "And why aren't you doing it yourself? Are you trying to frame me?"_

_"You'll get your fair share of the pies, and I'm asking you because you're the only one in this family that has a reputation for getting away with this sort of stuff."_

_"Aella does it a lot," Lavey said, still not convinced._

_"Not successfully," Jin added._

_Lavey smirked._

_"Alright. Suppose I_ **_did_ ** _say that I was going to help... you'd have to listen to every word that I say without question. Can you do that?" Lavey asked, idly playing with her weapon._

_Adolpha knew that Lavey already had a plan, she could see it in her eyes. Lavey was in, she was just angling to get what she wanted, like she always did._

_"If they involve pinning the blame on someone else, then the answer is no," Adolpha said._

_"Dear sister, you think so little of me!" Lavey said, putting one hand to her chest in offense. "I just need your word that you'll do as I say."_

_Adolpha huffed._

_"Fine. What do you have in mind?"_

_/_

_Aella joined in quickly with a grin, cracking her knuckles._

_"Anything for some of that pie!" she'd said._

_Auburn and Akio were in quickly too, and Auburn used his semblance to allow Aella and Jin to use Adolpha's semblance in case something might go wrong. They needed backup._

_Soon after, Aella darted into the kitchen and started to mess with Ruby, asking dozens of frustrating questions before she started to fly around the room through the use of her semblance. She saw the shadow of Jin walking into the room, and used a burst of her semblance to change the direction that the camera pointed. A gust of wind shot through the room, avoiding Ruby and anything that might rustle, and just tilted the view of the camera._

_Jin walked into the room, and Aella let out a cry of shock as she wobbled in the air, pretending that she was about to fall out of the air. Ruby immediately raced over to catch her, and Aella flew in front of the camera._

_Jin grabbed the pies and continued her slow, steady walk to not gain any attention, but her heart was racing. She set the pies on the floor and leaned against the wall, blocking them with her legs._

_Lavey reached out from the vents and stole the pies, putting the cover back on after she had tapped Jin's legs to let her know she was finished._

_Jin coughed into her hand, the signal to Aella, who let her flying go back to normal. Jin stepped out of the room without speaking to either her sister or her mother._

_Meanwhile, outside, Crystal was pretending to talk to thin air. Lavey had been standing in front of her, and Crystal had angled her body so that she couldn't be seen by the camera. She was lucky that Lavey was so small so that she could be blocked out._

_Akio had teleported into the backyard and grabbed Lavey before teleporting back inside into the ventilation._

_Lavey now had the pies set where she wanted them, in a secret compartment in the vents, and she then tapped her hand against the vent quietly._

_This alerted Adolpha a little ways away, who then winked at Akio._

_A moment later, he teleported to Lavey and took her back outside before reappearing in the bedroom with Adolpha and Auburn._

_And just like that, the plan was complete._

_/_

Lavey pushed the vents open. It was night now, their parents were asleep, and their brothers had snuck across the hall and went into their bedroom.

Lavey reappeared in the bedroom once more with a smirk, grabbing a knife and cutting the pies into pieces, which she passed around to her siblings.

"Congratulations, Dolph," Lavey said with a wink. "You just completed your first heist."

"And it was _delicious_ ," Adolpha said smugly, taking a bite of her pie and sitting back with a self-satisfied look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lavey: Maybe you should calm down, wave the white flag, and that's coming from ME!  
> Crystal: THE ONLY THING I'LL WAVE IS THEIR DECAPITATED HEAD ON A STICK IN FRONT OF THEIR WEEPING MOTHER!  
> Lavey: Oh my Dust-  
> -  
> Crystal: *from the other room* This is bad.  
> Aella: Who's that?  
> Crystal: Your conscience. We haven't spoken in a while.  
> -  
> Adolpha: And that concludes our battle plans. Auburn, you're up.  
> Auburn: Let's see how much you were REALLY paying attention.  
> *kahoot music starts playing*  
> -  
> Lavey: *drops from a vent in the ceiling wrapped in a blanket* *scrambles through the room* *grabs a phone charger* *races back into the vents*  
> Yang:  
> Ruby:  
> Blake:  
> Weiss: WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!  
> Crystal: Gremlin attack, mom, they're pretty common these days.  
> -  
> Adolpha: I have faith in you.  
> Aella: *genuinely confused* Why?  
> -  
> Stacey: *singing to Syntheia* L is for the way you look.  
> Syntheia:....... at me?  
> Stacey: No, just for the way you look. The L is for lesbian.  
> -  
> Blake: *knocking on bedroom door* Open up!  
> Syntheia: I think I'm in love with all four other members of team ATLSS and-  
> Blake: That's not what I meant-  
> Alea: *slapping hand over her mouth* Let her finish.  
> -  
> Crystal: ADOLPHA! COME OUT NOW!  
> Adolpha: I'm a lesbian.  
> Crystal: I know THAT, I meant get your ass out of the bathroom, it's my turn to take a shower.  
> -  
> Aella: *dumps out a shopping bag full of Lunchables onto the table* TONIGHT, MY SIBLINGS, WE FEAST LIKE ROYALTY!  
> Crystal: That's not a feast-  
> Akio, Adolpha, Auburn, Jin, and Lavey: YEAHHH!


	38. The Ajax Household

"So let me get this straight," Andrea said slowly. "Since the last time we saw you... you got **another** girlfriend?"

Alea laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, uh, I mean, technically speaking... yes. Yes, I have gotten another girlfriend since we last spoke."

Andrea stared at her.

Alea coughed into her hand.

"Her name's Syntheia. She... she's very pretty."

"You already introduced me," Syntheia said, blushing deeply.

"But I didn't say you were very pretty the first time," Alea muttered, glancing at Syntheia and giving her a small smirk. It was obviously supposed to be an innocent smile.

Syntheia glared at her as her face turned a darker shade of red.

"You're trying to make me embarrassed," she growled, kicking Alea's shin.

Alea let out a cry of shock and pulled her leg back, eyes wide.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

Andrea burst out laughing and grinned at Syntheia.

"You know what? Good job, Alea! I like this one! She's my favorite one you've brought home yet!"

Alea frowned for a moment before she started to grin... but then her eyes shifted to Lexey, Stacey, and Terresa.

She frowned again in confusion and glanced at her girlfriends in quick succession.

Syntheia was smirking in a self-satisfied way, arms crossed as she eyed Andrea up and down.

"Hey," Alea said, "I'm glad you like Syntheia, but... don't insult my girlfriends."

Andrea rolled her eyes and Alea crossed her arms against her chest with a small sigh of frustration.

Alexis and Andrew were still holding onto Alea, and she let her hands drop down to set on either of their heads.

Alea was happy to be home, if only for the afternoon. And... even if her sister was acting a bit rude and insulting her girlfriends.

But Alea guessed that her girlfriends/teammates would be fine. After all, they'd all dealt with this sort of thin before, and the insults weren't too bad, right?

Alea glanced to the side to see what her girlfriends were thinking.

Stacey was rolling her eyes, but there was a small smirk on her face. She supposed that meant Stacey wasn't upset.

Lexey was laughing at something Alicia, Alea's mother, had said. Alea supposed that Lexey was alright.

Terresa was wrestling playfully with Anthony. Alea let out a sigh of relief. She guessed everyone was alright...

Alea found herself silently watching over her old and new family, a smile groaning across her lips. She leaned back against the wall, lifting her leg up and resting it there as well.

Watching over everyone in the house was a familiar scene.

She'd done it a lot when she was younger, and it was probably why she was so good when she had to take care of her teammates/girlfriends and Ivy.

When she was younger, her mother often left her in charge of watching her siblings when she had to leave.

There were five of them in total, and it was difficult for her mother to watch all of them on her own, like she'd had to do ever since Anthony had been born.

Alea's father, and by extension the father of all her siblings, had left after her youngest brother had been born, which meant that Alicia had been forced to watch and raise Alea and her siblings.

Alea had been seven when it had happened, which meant that she hardly remembered her own father, and ever since had been very hands on when it came to helping her siblings.

She was a pretty good older sister, if one were to ask her, and she had been checking in on them daily with her scroll, especially since she had decided to spend the summer with team RWBY, ATLSS, and ORIN. She had felt guilty about having to spend so much time away, but her mother had reassured her that it was alright, good even, for her to have a little bit of time away from home and her siblings.

Not only did she need some time alone, but her siblings needed a little while without Alea hovering like a helicopter parent. In fact, the way Blake reacted to her seven children was very similar to how Alea reacted to her siblings. Alea knew that was part of why Andrea had been rather rude to her recently, considering she was in the brink of her teenage angst phase where she needed to rebel against her parents.

And Alea... Alea had taken over the role of their father in a lot of ways. She was protective, she offered to beat up the parents of any bullies (and the bullies), didn't want her siblings to date anyone, and had offered to do projects with her siblings that fathers typically do.

That might have been part of why Alea herself had so much trouble with people her own age.

That's what her mother had always said.

Once, she'd said, "Alea, you're so busy trying to grow up and be their parent that you never had the chance to _actually_ grow up, so go and spend the summer with your friends. Don't worry so much."

Alea had broken down into tears when she heard the words and had given her mother an extra tight hug when she'd gotten there a few minutes earlier.

Alea glanced at her girlfriends and Ivy, who was standing a few inches to the side with a small smirk on her face.

Alea guessed she _had_ gotten the chance to grow up some in the past few months.

She'd made a best friend, gotten her first kiss, gotten in her first real relationship, and had school drama.

She loved her siblings, perhaps too much, but sometimes... sometimes she needed just a little bit of time to herself.

But she was happy to be here today and enjoy their company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adolpha: I love how our mothers seem to think we don't know how insane our siblings are. We see and hear the things that don't even get to them! Like "no no no, Lav, you're not going to blackmail them, just go take a nap."  
> -  
> Lavey: I'm not an e-boy or an e-girl but I am E-mortal.  
> Crystal: That's not how it's spelled-  
> -  
> Lavey: WHY DON'T YOU TRY SPEAKING IN WORDS INSTEAD OF YOUR DAMN DIRTY LIES!  
> Crystal: it happened ONE TIME-  
> -  
> Aella: We need to get through this door. Cy, give me your credit card.  
> Crystal: *hands it over*  
> Aella: Cool. Lavey, kick down the door.  
> Lavey: Cool!  
> Crystal: WAIT WHAT?!  
> Aella: Byeee!  
> -  
> Lavey: Last week I lost my dear brother, Auburn.  
> Auburn: STOP TELLING EVERYONE I'M DEAD!  
> Lavey: Sometimes I can still hear him! *fake sob*  
> -  
> *when they're adults*  
> Crystal: How... how did you even-  
> Lavey: Determination and alcohol can get a whole lot of things done. I mean, that's how they built the pyramids.  
> Crystal:  
> Lavey:  
> Crystal: You're not wrong, but I hate you.  
> Lavey: Fair enough.  
> -  
> Someone: Why are you such a good fighter?  
> Lavey: I have five older siblings.  
> Someone: Oooh-  
> Lavey: Yeah. Adolpha's super nice, Jin is a step away from being a pacifist, Akio is a giant nerd, Aella is a jerk and almost gets punched daily because of this, Crystal cusses everyone out and then needs protection, and Auburn is my little brother that needs to be protected. Oh not to mention the fact that, like, almost all of them are faunus and I'm gonna whoop a racist.  
> Someone:  
> Lavey: Yeah I'm pretty badass.


	39. An Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now my friends, we have brought this to an end.
> 
> There's gonna be a next part! Don't worry! But this is the end of an era. After this, I'm going to do what I've been experimenting with for this whole part and jump around in time. I'll write the year/how old the SEVEN are at the beginning of each chapter, but this is the end of an era, but the beginning of so many more! I hope you guys stick with me as I shift the focus of this to the SEVEN.
> 
> Also, this chapter is weird, but I actually really like it. No characters, read at your own risk!!!!

Time is a funny thing.

Does time ever truly move forward or backward, or do we move forward through it, like a river?

The river is still present as you're swept down the rapids, but you can't reach back as you're pulled down.

If time is truly like this, then the argument can be made that all of time is happening at once, will always be happening at once, and has happened all at once. So, I suppose that you could say that this argument has, has not, will be, will not be, and is being made as we speak.

This brings up the argument of the multiverse.

Does every decision that has been made, will be made, and will not be made create a new universe? Has it already made another universe?

Are these questions that I should be posing to you, or are these questions that really don't matter?

If you were to ask me for my opinion, as few do, and perhaps I can't blame them for that, I would say that these questions, while interesting, don't truly matter.

What matters isn't if time passes or if you pass through time, it isn't whether there are multiple universes that have been made based off of your actions.

What matters is what you decide to do with the time, how you decide to spend it, who you decide to spend it with.

And, just like the questions I asked you earlier and the theories I posed, there is no answer that is none to be correct, and perhaps there never will be one.

And maybe, just maybe, that means that your decisions don't matter in any grand scheme expect for if it makes you and those you care about happy.

And maybe you didn't understand what I wrote, and maybe I didn't, and maybe both of us did.

But if there's one thing I want everyone who has read this entire series that I've written so far to take away, it's that you should let go of your worries, let go of these big questions that weigh you down, and to have fun in the moment.

After all, do you really need to know how the roller coaster works to have a hell of a ride?

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [SEVEN](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24868651) by [DRGUINEAPIG87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DRGUINEAPIG87/pseuds/DRGUINEAPIG87)




End file.
